land surveyors compendium
TRANSCRIPT
Compendium Of Louisiana and Federal Laws Relating to Land Surveying
January 2017
Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board 9643 Brookline Avenue, Suite 121
Baton Rouge, LA 70809-1433 (225) 925-6291
Fax (225) 925-6292 www.lapels.com
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INTRODUCTION
The practice of land surveying has become more complex over the years and its
importance in Louisiana much greater as land values have increased and the development of oil,
gas and other natural resources has become such a large factor in the state’s economy. This
situation has made it imperative that professional land surveyors be required to have more ability
and judgment than formerly.
The Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board has responded to the
need for more capability on the part of persons it authorizes to perform land surveying by
increasing the scope of the examinations it gives to applicants, particularly to ensure that a
professional land surveyor will have some elementary knowledge of our state’s property and
land laws as well as technical proficiency in the profession.
This publication was prepared in order to fulfill the need for a compilation of the
elementary laws governing land surveys and land surveying in Louisiana. It is not intended to
provide enough information and education to make a lawyer out of a land surveyor; rather, its
purpose is to guide the applicant in studying for licensure examinations and the professional land
surveyor in the field and the drafting room in making and plotting surveys. Annotations and
summaries of decided cases have not been made a part of this Compendium. Nevertheless, such
annotated codes and statutes as the Louisiana Civil Code, the Louisiana Code of Civil
Procedure, the Louisiana Revised Statutes, and United States Code should be of significant
value to an applicant or a professional land surveyor interested in obtaining additional
information.
This publication is a summary of the laws in effect on January 1, 2017. All laws are
subject to revision each year. Some laws may be repealed by the Legislature or the
Congress. There is no guarantee that the laws or Board rules excerpted herein will remain in
effect for any period of time. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all practitioners to verify the
current status of a law or Board rule before relying thereon.
Except as otherwise stated, the present tense includes the past and future tense; the future
tense includes the present tense; the masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter, and the
neuter includes the masculine and feminine; the singular tense includes the plural and the plural
tense includes the singular.
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SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
I. Louisiana Civil Code .................................................................................................................1
II. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure ...........................................................................................37
III. Louisiana Revised Statutes ........................................................................................................42
IV. Federal Laws Pertaining to Surveying - Excerpts from the United States Code .......................106
V. Rules of the Board .....................................................................................................................135
NOTE: La. R.S. 37:681-703 (Licensure Law) and LAC Title 46, Part LXI (Board Rules) may
be obtained separately and are also posted on the Board’s website at
http://www.lapels.com. The Licensure Law and the Board Rules are considered to be a
part of this Compendium as though printed herein.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. LOUISIANA CIVIL CODE .....................................................................................................1
Art. 1. Sources of law ...................................................................................................1
Art. 2. Legislation.........................................................................................................1
Art. 3. Custom ..............................................................................................................1
Art. 4. Absence of legislation or custom ......................................................................1
Art. 5. Ignorance of law ...............................................................................................1
Art. 6. Retroactivity of laws .........................................................................................1
Art. 7. Laws for the preservation of the public interest................................................1
Art. 8. Repeal of laws ...................................................................................................1
Art. 9. Clear and unambiguous law ..............................................................................1
Art. 10. Language susceptible of different meanings.....................................................1
Art. 11. Meaning of words .............................................................................................2
Art. 12. Ambiguous words .............................................................................................2
Art. 13. Laws on the same subject matter ......................................................................2
Art. 14. Multistate cases .................................................................................................2
Art. 448. Division of things ..............................................................................................2
Art. 449. Common things .................................................................................................2
Art. 450. Public things......................................................................................................2
Art. 451. Seashore ............................................................................................................2
Art. 452. Public things and common things subject to public use ...................................2
Art. 453. Private things ....................................................................................................3
Art. 455. Private things subject to public use ...................................................................3
Art. 456. Banks of navigable rivers or streams ................................................................3
Art. 457. Roads; public or private ....................................................................................3
Art. 458. Works obstructing the public use ......................................................................3
Art. 461. Corporeals and incorporeals .............................................................................3
Art. 462. Tracts of land ....................................................................................................3
Art. 463. Component parts of tracts of land .....................................................................4
Art. 464. Buildings and standing timber as separate immovables ...................................4
Art. 465. Things incorporated into an immovable ...........................................................4
Art. 466. Component parts of a building or other construction .......................................4
Art. 467. Immovables by declaration ...............................................................................4
Art. 469. Transfer or encumbrance of immovable ...........................................................4
Art. 470. Incorporeal immovables....................................................................................4
Art. 476. Rights in things .................................................................................................4
Art. 477. Ownership; content ...........................................................................................5
Art. 480. Co-ownership ....................................................................................................5
Art. 481. Ownership and possession distinguished ..........................................................5
Art. 482. Accession ..........................................................................................................5
Art. 490. Accession above and below the surface ............................................................5
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Art. 496. Constructions by possessor in good faith..........................................................5
Art. 497. Constructions by bad faith possessor ................................................................6
Art. 499. Alluvion and dereliction ...................................................................................6
Art. 500. Shore of the sea or of a lake ..............................................................................6
Art. 501. Division of alluvion ..........................................................................................6
Art. 502. Sudden action of waters ....................................................................................6
Art. 503. Island formed by river opening a new channel .................................................6
Art. 504. Ownership of abandoned bed when river changes course ................................6
Art. 505. Islands and sandbars in navigable rivers ...........................................................7
Art. 506. Ownership of beds of nonnavigable rivers or streams ......................................7
Art. 517. Voluntary transfer of ownership of an immovable ...........................................7
Art. 533. Kinds of servitudes ...........................................................................................7
Art. 534. Personal servitude .............................................................................................7
Art. 646. Predial servitude; definition ..............................................................................7
Art. 647. Benefit to dominant estate ................................................................................7
Art. 648. Contiguity or proximity of the estates ..............................................................8
Art. 650. Inseparability of servitude .................................................................................8
Art. 651. Obligations of the owner of the servient estate .................................................8
Art. 652. Indivisibility of servitude ..................................................................................8
Art. 653. Division of advantages ......................................................................................8
Art. 654. Kinds of predial servitudes ...............................................................................8
Art. 655. Natural drainage ................................................................................................8
Art. 656. Obligations of the owners .................................................................................9
Art. 657. Estate bordering on running water ....................................................................9
Art. 658. Estate through which water runs .......................................................................9
Art. 663. Projections over boundary ................................................................................9
Art. 665. Legal public servitudes .....................................................................................9
Art. 666. River road; substitution if destroyed or impassable ..........................................9
Art. 670. Encroaching building ........................................................................................9
Art. 672. Other legal servitudes .......................................................................................9
Art. 673. Common wall servitude ....................................................................................10
Art. 674. Contribution by neighbor ..................................................................................10
Art. 675. Presumption of common wall ...........................................................................10
Art. 676. Adjoining wall ..................................................................................................10
Art. 684. Enclosures .........................................................................................................10
Art. 685. Common fences ................................................................................................10
Art. 686. Common ditches ...............................................................................................10
Art. 687. Trees, bushes, and plants on the boundary .......................................................10
Art. 688. Branches or roots of trees, bushes, or plants on neighboring property .............11
Art. 689. Enclosed estate; right of passage ......................................................................11
Art. 690. Extent of passage ..............................................................................................11
Art. 691. Constructions ....................................................................................................11
Art. 692. Location of passage...........................................................................................11
Art. 693. Enclosed estate; voluntary act ...........................................................................11
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Art. 694. Enclosed estate; voluntary alienation or partition ............................................12
Art. 695. Relocation of servitude .....................................................................................12
Art. 696.1. Utility ................................................................................................................12
Art. 697. Right to establish predial servitudes; limitations ..............................................12
Art. 698. Property susceptible of servitudes ....................................................................12
Art. 699. Examples of predial servitudes .........................................................................12
Art. 700. Servitude of support ..........................................................................................12
Art. 701. Servitude of view ..............................................................................................12
Art. 702. Prohibition of view ...........................................................................................13
Art. 703. Servitude of light...............................................................................................13
Art. 704. Prohibition of light ............................................................................................13
Art. 705. Servitude of passage .........................................................................................13
Art. 706. Servitudes; affirmative or negative ...................................................................13
Art. 707. Servitudes; apparent or nonapparent .................................................................13
Art. 730. Interpretation of servitude .................................................................................13
Art. 731. Charge expressly for the benefit of an estate ....................................................13
Art. 740. Modes of acquisition of servitudes ...................................................................13
Art. 742. Acquisitive prescription ....................................................................................14
Art. 745. Right to enter into the servient estate ................................................................14
Art. 750. Location of servitude when the title is silent ....................................................14
Art. 751. Destruction of dominant or of servient estate ...................................................14
Art. 753. Prescription for nonuse .....................................................................................14
Art. 754. Commencement of nonuse ................................................................................14
Art. 757. Sufficiency of acts by third persons ..................................................................14
Art. 765. Confusion ..........................................................................................................14
Art. 771. Renunciation of servitude .................................................................................14
Art. 773. Expiration of time or happening of condition ...................................................14
Art. 774. Dissolution of the right of the grantor...............................................................14
Art. 775. Building restrictions ..........................................................................................15
Art. 776. Establishment ....................................................................................................15
Art. 780. Amendment and termination of building restrictions .......................................15
Art. 782. Abandonment of plan or of restriction ..............................................................15
Art. 783. Matters of interpretation and application ..........................................................15
Art. 784. Boundary; marker .............................................................................................15
Art. 785. Fixing of the boundary ......................................................................................15
Art. 786. Persons who may compel fixing of boundary...................................................16
Art. 787. Lessee may compel lessor .................................................................................16
Art. 788. Imprescriptibility of the right ............................................................................16
Art. 789. Fixing of boundary judicially or extrajudicially ...............................................16
Art. 790. Costs ..................................................................................................................16
Art. 791. Liability for unauthorized removal of markers .................................................16
Art. 792. Fixing of boundary according to ownership or possession ...............................16
Art. 793. Determination of ownership according to titles ................................................16
Art. 794. Determination of ownership according to prescription ....................................16
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Art. 795. Effect of boundary agreement ...........................................................................17
Art. 796. Error in the location of markers; rectification ...................................................17
Art. 797. Ownership in indivision; definition ..................................................................17
Art. 801. Use and management by agreement .................................................................17
Art. 802. Right to use the thing ........................................................................................17
Art. 803. Use and management of the thing in the absence of agreement .......................17
Art. 805. Disposition of undivided share .........................................................................17
Art. 807. Right to partition; exclusion by agreement .......................................................17
Art. 808. Partition excluded .............................................................................................17
Art. 809. Judicial and extrajudicial partition ....................................................................17
Art. 810. Partition in kind.................................................................................................18
Art. 811. Partition by licitation or by private sale ............................................................18
Art. 812. Effect of partition on real rights ........................................................................18
Art. 813. Partition in kind.................................................................................................18
Art. 814. Rescission of partition for lesion ......................................................................18
Art. 815. Partition by licitation.........................................................................................18
Art. 816. Partition in kind; warranty ................................................................................18
Art. 817. Imprescriptibility of action ...............................................................................18
Art. 818. Other rights held in indivision ..........................................................................18
Art. 1756. Obligations; definition ......................................................................................18
Art. 1757. Sources of obligations .......................................................................................18
Art. 1759. Good faith .........................................................................................................19
Art. 1831. Party must prove obligation ..............................................................................19
Art. 1832. Written form required by law ...........................................................................19
Art. 1839. Transfer of immovable property .......................................................................19
Art. 1840. Copy of authentic act ........................................................................................19
Art. 1841. Copy of recorded writing ..................................................................................19
Art. 1854. Extinction by performance ................................................................................19
Art. 1855. Performance by a third person ..........................................................................19
Art. 1873. Obligor not liable when failure caused by fortuitous event ..............................20
Art. 1875. Fortuitous event ................................................................................................20
Art. 1876. Contract dissolved when performance becomes impossible ............................20
Art. 1877. Fortuitous event that has made performance impossible in part .......................20
Art. 1878. Fortuitous event after obligor performed in part...............................................20
Art. 1906. Definition of contract ........................................................................................20
Art. 1918. General statement of capacity ...........................................................................20
Art. 1919. Right to plead rescission ...................................................................................20
Art. 1920. Right to require confirmation or rescission of the contract ..............................21
Art. 1921. Rescission of contract for incapacity ................................................................21
Art. 1923. Incapacity of unemancipated minor; exceptions...............................................21
Art. 1927. Consent .............................................................................................................21
Art. 1928. Irrevocable offer................................................................................................21
Art. 1940. Acceptance only by completed performance ....................................................21
Art. 1941. Notice of commencement of performance ........................................................22
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Art. 1942. Acceptance by silence .......................................................................................22
Art. 1943. Acceptance not in accordance with offer ..........................................................22
Art. 1983. Law for the parties; performance in good faith ................................................22
Art. 1984. Rights and obligations will pass to successors .................................................22
Art. 1986. Right of the obligee ...........................................................................................22
Art. 1989. Damages for delay ............................................................................................22
Art. 1990. Obligor put in default by arrival of term ...........................................................22
Art. 1991. Manners of putting in default ............................................................................22
Art. 1994. Obligor liable for failure to perform .................................................................23
Art. 1995. Measure of damages .........................................................................................23
Art. 1996. Obligor in good faith .........................................................................................23
Art. 1997. Obligor in bad faith ...........................................................................................23
Art. 2315. Liability for acts causing damages ....................................................................23
Art. 2316. Negligence, imprudence or want of skill ..........................................................23
Art. 3338. Instruments creating real rights in immovables; recordation
required to affect third persons .........................................................................23
Art. 3339. Matters not of record .........................................................................................24
Art. 3340. Effect of recording other documents .................................................................24
Art. 3341. Limits on the effect of recordation....................................................................24
Art. 3342. Parties to an instrument are precluded from raising certain matters .................24
Art. 3343. Third person defined .........................................................................................25
Art. 3344. Refusal for failure of original signature or proper certification; effect of
recordation; necessity of proof of signature recordation of a duplicate ............25
Art. 3345. Recordation of a duplicate ................................................................................25
Art. 3346. Place of recordation; duty of the recorder.........................................................25
Art. 3347. Effect of recordation arises upon filing ............................................................25
Art. 3348. Time of filing; determination ............................................................................25
Art. 3349. Failure to endorse; effect ..................................................................................26
Art. 3350. Presumption as to time of filing ........................................................................26
Art. 3351. Ancient documents; presumptions ....................................................................26
Art. 3352. Recorded acts; required information .................................................................26
Art. 3353. Effect of indefinite or incomplete name ...........................................................27
Art. 3354. Applicability .....................................................................................................27
Art. 3355. Mortgage, pledge, or privilege affecting property in several parishes .............27
Art. 3356. Transfers, amendments, and releases ................................................................27
Art. 3357. Duration; general rule .......................................................................................27
Art. 3358. Duration of recordation of certain mortgages, pledges, and privileges ............27
Art. 3359. Duration of recordation of judicial mortgage ...................................................28
Art. 3360. Duration of recordation of mortgage given by tutor, curator,
or succession representative ..............................................................................28
Art. 3361. Effect of amendment .........................................................................................28
Art. 3362. Method of reinscription.....................................................................................28
Art. 3363. Method of reinscription exclusive ....................................................................28
Art. 3364. Effect of timely recordation of notice of reinscription .....................................28
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Art. 3365. Effect of notice recorded after cessation of effect of recordation .....................28
Art. 3366. Cancellation upon written request; form and content .......................................29
Art. 3367. Cancellation of recordation after effect of recordation has ceased ...................29
Art. 3368. Cancellation of judicial mortgage arising from judgment that
has prescribed....................................................................................................29
Art. 3421. Possession .........................................................................................................29
Art. 3422. Nature of possession; right to possess ..............................................................30
Art. 3423. Rights of possessors ..........................................................................................30
Art. 3424. Acquisition of possession .................................................................................30
Art. 3425. Corporeal possession ........................................................................................30
Art. 3426. Constructive possession ....................................................................................30
Art. 3428. Acquisition of possession through another .......................................................30
Art. 3429. Exercise of possession by another ....................................................................30
Art. 3431. Retention of possession; civil possession .........................................................30
Art. 3432. Presumption of retention of possession ............................................................30
Art. 3433. Loss of possession.............................................................................................30
Art. 3441. Transfer of possession.......................................................................................30
Art. 3442. Tacking of possession .......................................................................................30
Art. 3445. Kinds of prescription.........................................................................................31
Art. 3446. Acquisitive prescription ....................................................................................31
Art. 3447. Liberative prescription ......................................................................................31
Art. 3448. Prescription of nonuse.......................................................................................31
Art. 3449. Renunciation of prescription .............................................................................31
Art. 3450. Express or tacit renunciation .............................................................................31
Art. 3452. Necessity for pleading prescription ..................................................................31
Art. 3457. Prescription established by legislation only ......................................................31
Art. 3462. Interruption by filing of suit or by service of process .......................................31
Art. 3463. Duration of interruption; abandonment or discontinuance of suit ....................31
Art. 3465. Interruption of acquisitive prescription .............................................................32
Art. 3467. Persons against whom prescription runs ...........................................................32
Art. 3473. Prescription of ten years....................................................................................32
Art. 3475. Requisites ..........................................................................................................32
Art. 3476. Attributes of possession ....................................................................................32
Art. 3480. Good faith .........................................................................................................32
Art. 3481. Presumption of good faith .................................................................................32
Art. 3482. Good faith at commencement of prescription ...................................................32
Art. 3483. Just title .............................................................................................................32
Art. 3486. Immovables; prescription of thirty years ..........................................................33
Art. 3487. Restriction as to extent of possession ...............................................................33
Art. 3492. Delictual actions................................................................................................33
Art. 3493. Damage to immovable property; commencement and
accrual of prescription ......................................................................................33
Art. 3494. Actions subject to a three-year prescription ......................................................33
Art. 3497. Actions subject to a five year prescription .......................................................33
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Art. 3499. Personal action ..................................................................................................34
Art. 3500. Action against contractors and architects .........................................................34
Art. 3515. Determination of the applicable law; general and residual rule .......................34
Art. 3516. Meaning of "State" ............................................................................................34
Art. 3517. Renvoi ...............................................................................................................34
Art. 3518. Domicile ............................................................................................................34
Art. 3519. Status of natural persons; general principle ......................................................35
Art. 3524. Immovables situated in this state ......................................................................35
Art. 3525. Termination of community; immovables in another state acquired
by a spouse while domiciled in this state ..........................................................35
Art. 3526. Termination of community; movables and Louisiana immovables
acquired by a spouse while domiciled in another state .....................................35
Art. 3527. Louisiana immovables acquired by a spouse while domiciled in another
state; death of the acquiring spouse while domiciled in another state ..............36
Art. 3528. Formal validity of testamentary dispositions ....................................................36
Art. 3530. Capacity of heir or legatee ................................................................................36
Art. 3533. Immovables situated in this state ......................................................................36
Art. 3534. Immovables situated in another state ................................................................36
Art. 3535. Real rights in immovables ................................................................................36
Art. 3537. General rule .......................................................................................................37
Art. 3538. Form ..................................................................................................................37
Art. 3541. Other juridical acts and quasi-contractual obligations ......................................37
II. LOUISIANA CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE ......................................................................37
Art. 192. Appointment of expert witnesses; expenses .....................................................37
Art. 373. Expert appointed by court .................................................................................38
Art. 375. Neglect, failure, or refusal of expert or legal representative to perform
a legal duty when ordered to do so, subjects him to punishment for
contempt of court ..............................................................................................38
Art. 258. Electronic filing and recording of written instruments .....................................38
Art. 3651. Petitory action ...................................................................................................39
Art. 3652. Same; parties; venue .........................................................................................39
Art. 3653. Same; proof of title; immovable .......................................................................39
Art. 3655. Possessory action ..............................................................................................39
Art. 3656. Same; parties; venue .........................................................................................40
Art. 3659. Same; disturbance in fact and in law defined ...................................................40
Art. 3660. Same; possession ..............................................................................................40
Art. 3691. Boundary action ................................................................................................40
Art. 3692. Appointment of surveyor by court; duties of surveyor .....................................40
Art. 3693. Evidence; judgment ..........................................................................................40
Art. 4601. Methods of partition ..........................................................................................41
Art. 4602. Judicial partition................................................................................................41
Art. 4621. Partition by licitation.........................................................................................41
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Art. 4622. Petition ..............................................................................................................41
Art. 4651. Definition ..........................................................................................................41
Art. 4652. Claimants who may be impleaded ....................................................................41
III. LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTES ......................................................................................42
La. R.S. 3:4278.1. Trees, cutting without consent; penalty .............................................42
La. R.S. 9:1101. Ownership of waters and beds of bayous, rivers, streams,
lagoons, lakes and bays ......................................................................43
La. R.S. 9:1102. Batture in cities and towns; right of riparian owner ..........................43
La. R.S. 9:1102.1. Rights of riparian landowners and their lessees .................................44
La. R.S. 9:1102.2. Rights and duties of riparian owners and their lessees;
joint usage of certain riparian lands ...................................................44
La. R.S. 9:1107. Public policy respecting ownership of navigable waters
and beds thereof .................................................................................46
La. R.S. 9:1108. Invalidity of patent or transfer purporting to include navigable
waters and beds thereof ......................................................................46
La. R.S. 9:1109. Statutes not to be construed as validating purported transfer of
navigable waters or beds thereof ........................................................46
La. R.S. 9:1151. Change in ownership of land or water bottoms as result of
action of navigable stream, bay, lake, sea or arm of the sea;
mineral leases .....................................................................................46
La. R.S. 9:1152. Grant of mineral servitude on lands acquired by the state from
agencies or political subdivisions by subsidence or erosion ..............47
La. R.S. 9:1251. Passage to or from waters or recreational sites; servitudes
or rights of way or passage not acquired ...........................................48
La. R.S. 9:1254. Enclosed estate; right and servitude of passage on certain
waterways ..........................................................................................48
La. R.S. 9:1421. Acceptance of succession; benefit of inventory .................................49
La. R.S. 9:2721. Filing in office of parish recorder ......................................................49
La. R.S. 9:2724. Liens or privileges not dependent upon recordation for
existence or priority ...........................................................................50
La. R.S. 9:2726. Attachment and recordation of plats; definitions; penalty .................50
La. R.S. 9:2727. Attachment and recordation of plats; expropriations .........................50
La. R.S. 9:2772. Peremptive period for actions involving deficiencies in
surveying, design, supervision, or construction of immovables
or improvements thereon ...................................................................51
La. R.S. 9:2971. Presumption of grant of all interest; exceptions ................................53
La. R.S. 9:2981. Presumption of grant of interest in abandoned road ..........................54
La. R.S. 9:4801. Improvement of immovable by owner; privileges securing
the improvement ................................................................................54
La. R.S. 9:4802. Improvement of immovable by contractor; claims against the
owner and contractor; privileges securing the improvement .............55
La. R.S. 9:4811. Notice of a contract with a general contractor to be filed ..................57
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La. R.S. 9:4820. Privileges; effective date ....................................................................58
La. R.S. 9:5607. Actions against a professional engineer, surveyor, professional
interior designer, architect, real estate developer; peremptive
periods ................................................................................................59
La. R.S. 13:3666. Compensation of expert witnesses; costs of medical reports
and copies of hospital records; land surveyors ..................................60
La. R.S. 13:3728. Ancient document; admissible in civil suits ......................................60
La. R.S. 13:3729. Same; definition .................................................................................60
La. R.S. 14:63. Criminal trespass ................................................................................61
La. R.S. 30:211. Geophysical and geological survey, and public lands defined ..........64
La. R.S. 30:212. Permits for surveys on public lands ...................................................64
La. R.S. 30:213. Furnishing state information obtained under permits ........................65
La. R.S. 30:214. Permit for survey entailing use of public waters or bottoms .............66
La. R.S. 30:215. Nonexclusive geophysical permits ....................................................66
La. R.S. 30:216. Exclusive geophysical permits ...........................................................67
La. R.S. 30:217. Unauthorized geological surveying on lands of another;
registration requirements; penalties ...................................................68
La. R.S. 30:221. Aerial photographs or mosaics; filing; copies; penalty ......................69
La. R.S. 33:108. Procedure of commission; adoption of plan ......................................69
La. R.S. 33:111. Scope of control of subdivision .........................................................70
La. R.S. 33:112. Subdivision regulations ......................................................................70
La. R.S. 33:113. Procedure; legal effect of approval of plat .........................................72
La. R.S. 33:113.1. Administrative procedure ...................................................................73
La. R.S. 33:114. Transfer of lots in unapproved subdivisions ......................................74
La. R.S. 33:115. Improvements in unapproved streets .................................................74
La. R.S. 33:117. Status of existing platting statutes......................................................75
La. R.S. 33:151. Petition for annexation of territory ....................................................75
La. R.S. 33:152. Proces verbal and plat of survey ........................................................75
La. R.S. 33:153. Recording proces verbal and plat of survey; ordering election in
area to be annexed ..............................................................................75
La. R.S. 33:5051. Platting land into squares or lots before sale; filing map of land;
limitations on dedications ..................................................................76
La. R.S. 33:5052. Enforcement of requirements .............................................................77
La. R.S. 33:5053. Penalty for violation ...........................................................................77
La. R.S. 33:5054. Plan correcting discrepancy between prior plan and lots sold
thereunder; objections; registration of corrected plan .......................77
La. R.S. 37:681-703. Professional Engineering and Professional Surveying (available
separately)..........................................................................................78
La. R.S. 37:1736. Immunity from liability for architects, engineers, and land
surveyors ............................................................................................78
La. R.S. 37:2950. Criminal record effect on trade, occupational and
professional licensing.........................................................................79
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La. R.S. 37:2951. Default on repayment of certain student loans, grounds for
denying trade, occupation, or profession license; conditional
issuance; procedures ..........................................................................80
La. R.S. 37:2952. Failure to pay child support; effect on trade, occupation, and
professional licensing.........................................................................81
La. R.S. 41:14. Conveyances of waterbottoms, ownership ........................................81
La. R.S. 41:51. Surveys and plats ...............................................................................82
La. R.S. 41:52. Records transferred to this state by the former office of the
United States Surveyor General of the District of Louisiana ............82
La. R.S. 41:631. Sale of land to school board for public school
educational purposes ..........................................................................82
La. R.S. 41:713. Resurvey of obliterated or uncertain lines .........................................83
La. R.S. 41:1131. Fixing of boundaries by mutual consent ............................................83
La. R.S. 41:1132. Formal agreement to be made ............................................................83
La. R.S. 41:1136. Official determination of boundary ...................................................84
La. R.S. 41:1171. Roads established by parochial authorities over state lands ..............84
La. R.S. 44:41. Receiving and filing map, plat, etc. for record ..................................84
La. R.S. 44:115. Photographic reproduction of acts .....................................................85
La. R.S. 44:116. Photostatic, photographic, microfilm, or other photographic or
electronic copies of records; indexes of conveyance and
mortgage records; disposition; evidentiary status; preservation ........85
La. R.S. 48:481. Powers of parish governing authorities as to roads, bridges,
and ditches; penalties .........................................................................87
La. R.S. 48:483. Draining of public roads ....................................................................87
La. R.S. 48:484. Employment of engineers ..................................................................87
La. R.S. 48:491. Public roads ........................................................................................87
La. R.S. 48:511. Changing public road; penalty ...........................................................88
La. R.S. 48:512. Prohibition against closing, obstructing, or changing legal roads;
restoring to former condition; exceptions ..........................................89
La. R.S. 48:671. Model roads through municipalities ..................................................89
La. R.S. 48:701. Revocation of dedication; reversion of property ...............................89
La. R.S. 48:701.2. Webster Parish; revocation of dedication; reversion of property ......90
La. R.S. 48:702. Abandoning certain roads and exchanging property with
other property owners ........................................................................90
La. R.S. 48:703. Suit to establish title or interest after notice of
abandonment; prescription .................................................................90
La. R.S. 48:704. Contracts of exchange ........................................................................91
La. R.S. 48:719. Applicability; alternative procedure ..................................................91
La. R.S. 49:1. Gulfward boundary ............................................................................91
La. R.S. 49:2. Sovereignty over waters within boundaries .......................................91
La. R.S. 49:3. Ownership of waters within boundaries ............................................92
La. R.S. 49:3.1 Legislative intent and purpose ...........................................................92
La. R.S. 49:4. Water boundary between Louisiana and Mississippi.........................92
La. R.S. 49:5. Penalty for interference with marks or buoys ....................................92
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La. R.S. 49:6. Gulfward boundary of coastal parishes..............................................93
La. R.S. 50:1. Adoption; parishes comprising north and south zones ......................93
La. R.S. 50:2. Designation for use in North, South, and Offshore Zones .................94
La. R.S. 50:3. Plane coordinates ...............................................................................94
La. R.S. 50:4. Describing of location ........................................................................94
La. R.S. 50:5. Purchaser or mortgagee not required to rely on description
depending solely on system ...............................................................94
La. R.S. 50:6. Land in different zones ......................................................................94
La. R.S. 50:7. Louisiana Coordinate System defined ...............................................95
La. R.S. 50:8. Distance of boundary points from station ..........................................96
La. R.S. 50:9. Duly authorized state agency .............................................................96
La. R.S. 50:10. Use of term "Louisiana Coordinate System" in document ................96
La. R.S. 50:11. Termination of 1927 Coordinate System ...........................................96
La. R.S. 50:61. Right of entry .....................................................................................96
La. R.S. 50:62. Liability for entry or work done .........................................................96
La. R.S. 50:63. Disagreement as to damages due; petition to court; costs .................97
La. R.S. 50:64. Defacing, injuring, or removing property of U.S. survey;
penalty; damages ................................................................................97
La. R.S. 50:121. Reasons for surveys ...........................................................................97
La. R.S. 50:122. Register may procure field notes and hire surveyors and helpers
to make survey ...................................................................................97
La. R.S. 50:123. Petition for survey; notice; survey and map; cost ..............................97
La. R.S. 50:124. Landowners’ liability for expenses ....................................................97
La. R.S. 50:125. Conformance to prior survey or to plats under
which lands granted ...........................................................................98
La. R.S. 50:126. Filing of field notes and map or plat; effect of approval ...................98
La. R.S. 50:127. Recording of copy of proces verbal and of map or plat of survey
in parish; filing of originals................................................................98
La. R.S. 50:128. Conclusiveness of survey; evidence; correcting or setting aside .......98
La. R.S. 50:151. Authorization to hire surveyors, procure field notes,
and make surveys ...............................................................................98
La. R.S. 50:152. Petition by landowners for survey; survey and map ..........................99
La. R.S. 50:153. Cost of survey or re-survey ................................................................99
La. R.S. 50:154. Conformance to prior survey or to plats under which lands sold
by state or by U.S. ..............................................................................99
La. R.S. 50:155. Recording copy of resolution, proces verbal of survey, and blue
print maps in parish; filing with State Land Office ...........................99
La. R.S. 50:156. Establishing permanent markers after survey approval .....................99
La. R.S. 50:157. Surveys affecting parish boundary lines; how made official .............99
La. R.S. 50:171. Statewide land information mapping and records system;
standards ............................................................................................100
La. R.S. 50:172. Technical assistance and implementation ..........................................100
La. R.S. 50:173. Maintaining currency of standards.....................................................100
La. R.S. 50:173.1. Vertical control standards ..................................................................100
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La. R.S. 50:174. Parish land information office ...........................................................101
La. R.S. 50:221. Fixing parish boundary ......................................................................101
La. R.S. 50:222. Preserving returns showing boundary ................................................101
La. R.S. 50:225. Contracts for surveys and maps of parish ..........................................102
La. R.S. 50:226. Payment of obligations incurred incidental to survey
and mosaic map..................................................................................102
La. R.S. 50:227. Survey and map approved by parish governing authority; effect ......102
La. R.S. 50:228. Effect of survey on assessment roll of parish ....................................102
La. R.S. 56:425. Lease of water bottoms; stipulations; boundary disputes ..................102
La. R.S. 56:426. Filing and recordation of water bottoms leases .................................103
La. R.S. 56:427. Initial application for lease .................................................................104
IV. FEDERAL LAWS PERTAINING TO SURVEYING - EXCERPTS FROM
THE UNITED STATES CODE ...............................................................................................106
43 U.S.C. §2. Duties concerning public lands .............................................................106
43 U.S.C. §6. Duties of employees to certify, record, etc., patents .............................106
43 U.S.C. §17. Plats of land surveyed ...........................................................................106
43 U.S.C. §31. Director of United States Geological Survey........................................106
43 U.S.C. §38. Topographic surveys; marking elevations ............................................107
43 U.S.C. §52. Surveying duties....................................................................................107
43 U.S.C. §53 Powers devolved on Secretary of the Interior on turning over
of papers to States .................................................................................108
43 U.S.C. §54. Completion of surveys; delivery to States ............................................108
43 U.S.C. §55. Field notes delivered to States; access to ..............................................108
43 U.S.C. §56. Conditions of delivery to States ............................................................108
43 U.S.C. §58. Transcripts from records of Louisiana ..................................................108
43 U.S.C. §561. Survey and subdivision of land for town sites; reservation
for public purposes ................................................................................109
43 U.S.C. §751. Rules of survey .....................................................................................109
43 U.S.C. §752. Boundaries and contents of public lands; how ascertained ..................110
43 U.S.C. §753. Lines of division of half quarter sections; how run ..............................111
43 U.S.C. §757. Cost of survey of private land claims to be reported and paid..............111
43 U.S.C. §758. Delivery of patent contingent on refund of cost of survey ...................111
43 U.S.C. §759. Survey for and by settlers in township ..................................................111
43 U.S.C. §760. Deposit for expenses deemed an appropriation ....................................112
43 U.S.C. §761. Repayment of excess of deposits to cover cost of surveys
of mineral lands.....................................................................................112
43 U.S.C. §762. Deposits made by settlers for surveys to go in part
payment of lands ...................................................................................112
43 U.S.C. §763. Deposits in Louisiana applicable to resurveys ......................................112
43 U.S.C. §766. Geological surveys, extension of public surveys, expenses
of subdividing .......................................................................................112
43 U.S.C. §770. Rectangular mode of survey; departure from .......................................113
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43 U.S.C. §772. Resurveys or retracements to mark boundaries
of undisposed lands ...............................................................................113
43 U.S.C. §773. Resurveys or retracements of township lines, etc. ................................113
43 U.S.C. §774. Protection of surveyor by marshal ........................................................113
43 U.S.C. §852. Selections to supply deficiencies of school lands .................................114
43 U.S.C. §852a. Applications for unsurveyed lands; regulations;
acreage requirements ............................................................................116
43 U.S.C. §852b. Survey of lands prior to transfer; time for survey; availability
of funds; lands suitable for transfer ......................................................116
43 U.S.C. §931. Navigable rivers as public highways ....................................................116
43 U.S.C. §931a. Authority of Attorney General to grant easements and
rights-of-way to States, etc. ..................................................................116
43 U.S.C. §931c. Permits, leases, or easements; authorization to grant;
payment; limitation ...............................................................................116
43 U.S.C. §931d. Additional authority of department or agency head .............................117
43 U.S.C. §934. Right of way through public lands granted to railroads ........................117
43 U.S.C. §981. Indemnity to States on sale of lands .....................................................117
43 U.S.C. §982. Grant to States to aid in construction of levees and drains ...................117
43 U.S.C. §983. Lists and plats of lands, for governors of States ...................................117
43 U.S.C. §984. Legal subdivisions mostly wet and unfit for cultivation .......................118
43 U.S.C. §986. Selection of lands confirmed ................................................................118
43 U.S.C. §993. Sale of lands in Louisiana; preference rights; application for
purchase; appraisal; payment for land ..................................................118
43 U.S.C. §1301. Definitions.............................................................................................119
43 U.S.C. §1302. Resources seaward of the Continental Shelf .........................................120
43 U.S.C. §1303. Amendment, modification, or repeal of other laws .............................121
43 U.S.C. §1311. Rights of States .....................................................................................121
43 U.S.C. §1312. Seaward boundaries of States ...............................................................123
43 U.S.C. §1313. Exceptions from operation of section 1311 of this title ........................123
43 U.S.C. §1314. Rights and powers retained by United States; purchase of
natural resources; condemnation of lands .............................................123
43 U.S.C. §1315. Rights acquired under laws of United States unaffected .....................124
43 U.S.C. §1331. Definitions.............................................................................................124
43 U.S.C. §1332. Congressional declaration of policy ......................................................127
43 U.S.C. §1333. Laws and regulations governing lands ..................................................128
43 U.S.C. §1334. Administration of leasing ......................................................................130
THE DOCTRINE OF THALWEG ........................................................................................135
V. RULES OF THE BOARD ........................................................................................................135
LAC Title 46:LXI§2901. Scope and Purpose. ...................................................................136
LAC Title 46:LXI§2903. Definitions.................................................................................136
LAC Title 46:LXI§2905. Classification of Boundary Surveys..........................................138
LAC Title 46:LXI§2907. Property Boundary Survey. .......................................................139
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LAC Title 46:LXI§2909. Route Survey. ............................................................................146
LAC Title 46:LXI§2911. Mineral Unitization Survey. ......................................................147
LAC Title 46:LXI§2913. Positional Accuracy Specification and
Positional Tolerances [Formerly §2909] ..................................147
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I. LOUISIANA CIVIL CODE
A. PRELIMINARY TITLE
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 1. Sources of law. The sources of law are legislation and custom.
Art. 2. Legislation. Legislation is a solemn expression of legislative will.
Art. 3. Custom. Custom results from practice repeated for a long time and generally accepted
as having acquired the force of law. Custom may not abrogate legislation.
Art. 4. Absence of legislation or custom. When no rule for a particular situation can be
derived from legislation or custom, the court is bound to proceed according to equity. To decide
equitably, resort is made to justice, reason, and prevailing usages.
Art. 5. Ignorance of law. No one may avail himself of ignorance of the law.
Art. 6. Retroactivity of laws. In the absence of contrary legislative expression, substantive
laws apply prospectively only. Procedural and interpretative laws apply both prospectively and
retroactively, unless there is a legislative expression to the contrary.
Art. 7. Laws for the preservation of the public interest. Persons may not by their juridical
acts derogate from laws enacted for the protection of the public interest. Any act in derogation
of such laws is an absolute nullity.
Art. 8. Repeal of laws. Laws are repealed, either entirely or partially, by other laws.
A repeal may be express or implied. It is express when it is literally declared by a subsequent
law. It is implied when the new law contains provisions that are contrary to, or irreconcilable
with, those of the former law.
The repeal of a repealing law does not revive the first law.
INTERPRETATION OF LAWS
Art. 9. Clear and unambiguous law. When a law is clear and unambiguous and its application
does not lead to absurd consequences, the law shall be applied as written and no further
interpretation may be made in search of the intent of the legislature.
Art. 10. Language susceptible of different meanings. When the language of the law is
susceptible of different meanings, it must be interpreted as having the meaning that best
conforms to the purpose of the law.
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Art. 11. Meaning of words. The words of a law must be given their generally prevailing
meaning.
Words of art and technical terms must be given their technical meaning when the law involves a
technical matter.
Art. 12. Ambiguous words. When the words of a law are ambiguous, their meaning must be
sought by examining the context in which they occur and the text of the law as a whole.
Art. 13. Laws on the same subject matter. Laws on the same subject matter must be
interpreted in reference to each other.
CONFLICT OF LAWS
Art. 14. Multistate cases. Unless otherwise expressly provided by the law of this state, cases
having contacts with other states are governed by the law selected in accordance with the
provisions of Book IV of this Code.
B. THINGS
DIVISION OF THINGS
Art. 448. Division of things. Things are divided into common, public, and private; corporeals
and incorporeals; and movables and immovables.
Art. 449. Common things. Common things may not be owned by anyone. They are such as
the air and the high seas that may be freely used by everyone conformably with the use for which
nature has intended them.
Art. 450. Public things. Public things are owned by the state or its political subdivisions in
their capacity as public persons.
Public things that belong to the state are such as running waters, the waters and bottoms of
natural navigable water bodies, the territorial sea, and the seashore.
Public things that may belong to political subdivisions of the state are such as streets and public
squares.
Art. 451. Seashore. Seashore is the space of land over which the waters of the sea spread in the
highest tide during the winter season.
Art. 452. Public things and common things subject to public use. Public things and common
things are subject to public use in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Everyone
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has the right to fish in the rivers, ports, roadsteads, and harbors, and the right to land on the
seashore, to fish, to shelter himself, to moor ships, to dry nets, and the like, provided that he does
not cause injury to the property of adjoining owners.
The seashore within the limits of a municipality is subject to its police power, and the public use
is governed by municipal ordinances and regulations.
Art. 453. Private things. Private things are owned by individuals, other private persons, and by
the state or its political subdivisions in their capacity as private persons.
Art. 455. Private things subject to public use. Private things may be subject to public use in
accordance with law or by dedication.
Art. 456. Banks of navigable rivers or streams. The banks of navigable rivers or streams are
private things that are subject to public use.
The bank of a navigable river or stream is the land lying between the ordinary low and the
ordinary high stage of the water. Nevertheless, when there is a levee in proximity to the water,
established according to law, the levee shall form the bank.
Art. 457. Roads; public or private. A road may be either public or private.
A public road is one that is subject to public use. The public may own the land on which the
road is built or merely have the right to use it.
A private road is one that is not subject to public use.
Art. 458. Works obstructing the public use. Works built without lawful permit on public
things, including the sea, the seashore, and the bottom of natural navigable waters, or on the
banks of navigable rivers, that obstruct the public use may be removed at the expense of the
persons who built or own them at the instance of the public authorities, or of any person residing
in the state.
The owner of the works may not prevent their removal by alleging prescription or possession.
Art. 461. Corporeals and incorporeals. Corporeals are things that have a body, whether
animate or inanimate, and can be felt or touched.
Incorporeals are things that have no body, but are comprehended by the understanding, such as
the rights of inheritance, servitudes, obligations, and right of intellectual property.
Art. 462. Tracts of land. Tracts of land, with their component parts, are immovables.
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Art. 463. Component parts of tracts of land. Buildings, other constructions permanently
attached to the ground, standing timber, and unharvested crops or ungathered fruits of trees, are
component parts of a tract of land when they belong to the owner of the ground.
Art. 464. Buildings and standing timber as separate immovables. Buildings and standing
timber are separate immovables when they belong to a person other than the owner of the
ground.
Art. 465. Things incorporated into an immovable. Things incorporated into a tract of land, a
building, or other construction, so as to become an integral part of it, such as building materials,
are its component parts.
Art. 466. Component parts of a building or other construction. Things that are attached to a
building and that, according to prevailing usages, serve to complete a building of the same
general type, without regard to its specific use, are its component parts. Component parts of this
kind may include doors, shutters, gutters, and cabinetry, as well as plumbing, heating, cooling,
electrical, and similar systems.
Things that are attached to a construction other than a building and that serve its principal use are
its component parts.
Other things are component parts of a building or other construction if they are attached to such a
degree that they cannot be removed without substantial damage to themselves or to the building
or other construction.
Art. 467. Immovables by declaration. The owner of an immovable may declare that
machinery, appliances, and equipment owned by him and placed on the immovable, other than
his private residence, for its service and improvement are deemed to be its component parts. The
declaration shall be filed for registry in the conveyance records of the parish in which the
immovable is located.
Art. 469. Transfer or encumbrance of immovable. The transfer or encumbrance of an
immovable includes its component parts.
Art. 470. Incorporeal immovables. Rights and actions that apply to immovable things are
incorporeal immovables. Immovables of this kind are such as personal servitudes established on
immovables, predial servitudes, mineral rights, and petitory or possessory actions.
RIGHTS IN THINGS
Art. 476. Rights in things. One may have various rights in things:
1. Ownership;
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2. Personal and predial servitudes; and
3. Such other real rights as the law allows.
C. OWNERSHIP
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 477. Ownership; content.
A. Ownership is the right that confers on a person direct, immediate, and exclusive
authority over a thing. The owner of a thing may use, enjoy, and dispose of it within the limits
and under the conditions established by law.
B. A buyer and occupant of a residence under a bond for deed contract is the owner of the
thing for purposes of the homestead exemption granted to other property owners pursuant to
Article VII, Section 20(A) of the Constitution of Louisiana. The buyer under a bond for deed
contract shall apply for the homestead exemption each year.
Art. 480. Co-ownership. Two or more persons may own the same thing in indivision, each
having an undivided share.
Art. 481. Ownership and possession distinguished. The ownership and the possession of a
thing are distinct.
Ownership exists independently of any exercise of it and may not be lost by nonuse. Ownership
is lost when acquisitive prescription accrues in favor of an adverse possessor.
Art. 482. Accession. The ownership of a thing includes by accession the ownership of
everything that it produces or is united with it, either naturally or artificially, in accordance with
the following provisions.
RIGHT OF ACCESSION
Art. 490. Accession above and below the surface. Unless otherwise provided by law, the
ownership of a tract of land carries with it the ownership of everything that is directly above or
under it.
The owner may make works on, above, or below the land as he pleases, and draw all the
advantages that accrue from them, unless he is restrained by law or by rights of others.
Art. 496. Constructions by possessor in good faith. When constructions, plantings, or works
are made by a possessor in good faith, the owner of the immovable may not demand their
demolition and removal. He is bound to keep them and at his option to pay to the possessor
- 6 -
either the cost of the materials and of the workmanship, or their current value, or the enhanced
value of the immovable.
Art. 497. Constructions by bad faith possessor. When constructions, plantings, or works are
made by a bad faith possessor, the owner of the immovable may keep them or he may demand
their demolition and removal at the expense of the possessor, and, in addition, damages for the
injury that he may have sustained. If he does not demand demolition and removal, he is bound to
pay at his option either the current value of the materials and of the workmanship of the
separable improvements that he has kept or the enhanced value of the immovable.
Art. 499. Alluvion and dereliction. Accretion formed successively and imperceptibly on the
bank of a river or stream, whether navigable or not, is called alluvion. The alluvion belongs to
the owner of the bank, who is bound to leave public that portion of the bank which is required for
the public use.
The same rule applies to dereliction formed by water receding imperceptibly from a bank of a
river or stream. The owner of the land situated at the edge of the bank left dry owns the
dereliction.
Art. 500. Shore of the sea or of a lake. There is no right to alluvion or dereliction on the shore
of the sea or of lakes.
Art. 501. Division of alluvion. Alluvion formed in front of the property of several owners is
divided equitably, taking into account the extent of the front of each property prior to the
formation of the alluvion in issue. Each owner is entitled to a fair proportion of the area of the
alluvion and a fair proportion of the new frontage on the river, depending on the relative values
of the frontage and the acreage.
Art. 502. Sudden action of waters. If a sudden action of the waters of a river or stream carries
away an identifiable piece of ground and unites it with other lands on the same or on the opposite
bank, the ownership of the piece of ground so carried away is not lost. The owner may claim it
within a year, or even later, if the owner of the bank with which it is united has not taken
possession.
Art. 503. Island formed by river opening a new channel. When a river or stream, whether
navigable or not, opens a new channel and surrounds riparian land making it an island, the
ownership of that land is not affected.
Art. 504. Ownership of abandoned bed when river changes course. When a navigable river
or stream abandons its bed and opens a new one, the owners of the land on which the new bed is
located shall take by way of indemnification the abandoned bed, each in proportion to the
quantity of land that he lost.
If the river returns to the old bed, each shall take his former land.
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Art. 505. Islands and sandbars in navigable rivers. Islands, and sandbars that are not
attached to a bank, formed in the beds of navigable rivers or streams, belong to the state.
Art. 506. Ownership of beds of nonnavigable rivers or streams. In the absence of title or
prescription, the beds of nonnavigable rivers or streams belong to the riparian owners along a
line drawn in the middle of the bed.
TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP BY AGREEMENT
Art. 517. Voluntary transfer of ownership of an immovable. The ownership of an
immovable is voluntarily transferred by a contract between the owner and the transferee that
purports to transfer the ownership of the immovable. The transfer of ownership takes place
between the parties by the effect of the agreement and is not effective against third persons until
the contract is filed for registry in the conveyance records of the parish in which the immovable
is located.
D. PERSONAL SERVITUDES
KINDS OF SERVITUDES
Art. 533. Kinds of servitudes. There are two kinds of servitudes: personal servitudes and
predial servitudes.
Art. 534. Personal servitude. A personal servitude is a charge on a thing for the benefit of a
person. There are three sorts of personal servitudes: usufruct, habitation, and rights of use.
E. PREDIAL SERVITUDES
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 646. Predial servitude; definition. A predial servitude is a charge on a servient estate for
the benefit of a dominant estate.
The two estates must belong to different owners.
Art. 647. Benefit to dominant estate. There must be a benefit to the dominant estate. The
benefit need not exist at the time the servitude is created; a possible convenience or a future
advantage suffices to support a servitude.
There is no predial servitude if the charge imposed cannot be reasonably expected to benefit the
dominant estate.
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Art. 648. Contiguity or proximity of the estates. Neither contiguity nor proximity of the two
estates is necessary for the existence of a predial servitude. It suffices that the two estates be so
located as to allow one to derive some benefit from the charge on the other.
Art. 650. Inseparability of servitude.
A. A predial servitude is inseparable from the dominant estate and passes with it. The
right of using the servitude cannot be alienated, leased, or encumbered separately from the
dominant estate.
B. The predial servitude continues as a charge on the servient estate when ownership
changes.
Art. 651. Obligations of the owner of the servient estate. The owner of the servient estate is
not required to do anything. His obligation is to abstain from doing something on his estate or to
permit something to be done on it. He may be required by convention or by law to keep his
estate in suitable condition for the exercise of the servitude due to the dominant estate. A
servitude may not impose upon the owner of the servient estate or his successors the obligation
to pay a fee or other charge on the occasion of an alienation, lease, or encumbrance of the
servient estate.
Art. 652. Indivisibility of servitude. A predial servitude is indivisible. An estate cannot have
upon another estate part of a right of way, or of view, or of any other servitude, nor can an estate
be charged with a part of a servitude.
The use of a servitude may be limited to certain days or hours; when limited, it is still an entire
right. A servitude is due to the whole of the dominant estate and to all parts of it; if this estate is
divided, every acquirer of a part has the right of using the servitude in its entirety.
Art. 653. Division of advantages. The advantages resulting from a predial servitude may be
divided, if they are susceptible of division.
Art. 654. Kinds of predial servitudes. Predial servitudes may be natural, legal, and voluntary
or conventional. Natural servitudes arise from the natural situation of estates; legal servitudes
are imposed by law; and voluntary or conventional servitudes are established by juridical act,
prescription, or destination of the owner.
NATURAL SERVITUDES
Art. 655. Natural drainage. An estate situated below is bound to receive the surface waters
that flow naturally from an estate situated above unless an act of man has created the flow.
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Art. 656. Obligations of the owners. The owner of the servient estate may not do anything to
prevent the flow of the water. The owner of the dominant estate may not do anything to render
the servitude more burdensome.
Art. 657. Estate bordering on running water. The owner of an estate bordering on running
water may use it as it runs for the purpose of watering his estate or for other purposes.
Art. 658. Estate through which water runs. The owner of an estate through which water runs,
whether it originates there or passes from lands above, may make use of it while it runs over his
lands. He cannot stop it or give it another direction and is bound to return it to its ordinary
channel where it leaves his estate.
LEGAL SERVITUDES
Art. 663. Projections over boundary. A landowner may not build projections beyond the
boundary of his estate.
Art. 665. Legal public servitudes. Servitudes imposed for the public or common utility relate
to the space which is to be left for the public use by the adjacent proprietors on the shores of
navigable rivers and for the making and repairing of levees, roads, and other public or common
works. Such servitudes also exist on property necessary for the building of levees and other
water control structures on the alignment approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as
provided by law, including the repairing of hurricane protection levees.
All that relates to this kind of servitude is determined by laws or particular regulations.
Art. 666. River road; substitution if destroyed or impassable. He who from his title as
owner is bound to give a public road on the border of a river or stream, must furnish another
without any compensation, if the first be destroyed or carried away.
And if the road be so injured or inundated by the water, without being carried away, that it
becomes impassable, the owner is obliged to give the public a passage on his lands, as near as
possible to the public road, without recompense therefor.
Art. 670. Encroaching building. When a landowner constructs in good faith a building that
encroaches on an adjacent estate and the owner of that estate does not complain within a
reasonable time after he knew or should have known of the encroachment, or in any event
complains only after the construction is substantially completed the court may allow the building
to remain. The owner of the building acquires a predial servitude on the land occupied by the
building upon payment of compensation for the value of the servitude taken and for any other
damage that the neighbor has suffered.
Art. 672. Other legal servitudes. Other legal servitudes relate to common enclosures, such as
common walls, fences and ditches, and to the right of passage for the benefit of enclosed estates.
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Art. 673. Common wall servitude. A landowner who builds first may rest one-half of a
partition wall on the land of his neighbor, provided that he uses solid masonry at least as high as
the first story and that the width of the wall does not exceed eighteen inches, not including the
plastering which may not be more than three inches in thickness.
Art. 674. Contribution by neighbor. The wall thus raised becomes common if the neighbor is
willing to contribute one-half of its cost. If the neighbor refuses to contribute, he preserves the
right to make the wall common in whole or in part, at any time, by paying to the owner one-half
of the current value of the wall, or of the part that he wishes to make common.
Art. 675. Presumption of common wall. A wall that separates adjoining buildings and is
partly on one estate and partly on another is presumed to be common up to the highest part of the
lower building unless there is proof to the contrary.
Art. 676. Adjoining wall. When a solid masonry wall adjoins another estate, the neighbor has a
right to make it a common wall, in whole or in part, by paying to its owner one-half of the
current value of the wall, or of the part that he wishes to make common, and one-half of the
value of the soil on which the wall is built.
Art. 684. Enclosures. A landowner has the right to enclose his land.
Art. 685. Common fences. A fence on a boundary is presumed to be common unless there is
proof to the contrary.
When adjoining lands are enclosed, a landowner may compel his neighbors to contribute to the
expense of making and repairing common fences by which the respective lands are separated.
When adjoining lands are not enclosed, a landowner may compel his neighbors to contribute to
the expense of making and repairing common fences only as prescribed by local ordinances.
Art. 686. Common ditches. A ditch between two estates is presumed to be common unless
there be proof to the contrary.
Adjoining owners are responsible for the maintenance of a common ditch.
Art. 687. Trees, bushes, and plants on the boundary. Trees, bushes, and plants on the
boundary are presumed to be common unless there be proof to the contrary.
An adjoining owner has the right to demand the removal of trees, bushes, or plants on the
boundary that interfere with the enjoyment of his estate, but he must bear the expense of
removal.
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Art. 688. Branches or roots of trees, bushes, or plants on neighboring property. A
landowner has the right to demand that the branches or roots of a neighbor’s trees, bushes, or
plants, that extend over or into his property be trimmed at the expense of the neighbor.
A landowner does not have this right if the roots or branches do not interfere with the enjoyment
of his property.
Art. 689. Enclosed estate; right of passage. The owner of an estate that has no access to a
public road or utility may claim a right of passage over neighboring property to the nearest
public road or utility. He is bound to compensate his neighbor for the right of passage acquired
and to indemnify his neighbor for the damage he may occasion.
New or additional maintenance burdens imposed upon the servient estate or intervening lands
resulting from the utility servitude shall be the responsibility of the owner of the dominant estate.
Art. 690. Extent of passage. The right of passage for the benefit of an enclosed estate shall be
suitable for the kind of traffic or utility that is reasonably necessary for the use of that estate.
Art. 691. Constructions. The owner of the enclosed estate may construct on the right-of-way
the type of road, utility, or railroad reasonably necessary for the exercise of the servitude.
The utility crossing shall be constructed in compliance with all appropriate and applicable
federal and state standards so as to mitigate all hazards posed by the passage and the particular
conditions of the servient estate and intervening lands.
Art. 692. Location of passage. The owner of the enclosed estate may not demand the right of
passage or the right-of-way for the utility anywhere he chooses. The passage generally shall be
taken along the shortest route from the enclosed estate to the public road or utility at the location
least injurious to the intervening lands.
The location of the utility right-of-way shall coincide with the location of the servitude of
passage unless an alternate location providing access to the nearest utility is least injurious to the
servient estate and intervening lands.
The court shall evaluate and determine that the location of the servitude of passage or utility shall
not affect the safety of the operations or significantly interfere with the operations of the owner
of the servient estate or intervening lands prior to the granting of the servitude of passage or
utility.
Art. 693. Enclosed estate; voluntary act. If an estate becomes enclosed as a result of a
voluntary act or omission of its owner, the neighbors are not bound to furnish a passage to him or
his successors.
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Art. 694. Enclosed estate; voluntary alienation or partition. When in the case of partition, or
a voluntary alienation of an estate or of a part thereof, property alienated or partitioned becomes
enclosed, passage shall be furnished gratuitously by the owner of the land on which the passage
was previously exercised, even if it is not the shortest route to the public road or utility, and even
if the act of alienation or partition does not mention a servitude of passage.
Art. 695. Relocation of servitude. The owner of the enclosed estate has no right to the
relocation of this servitude after it is fixed. The owner of the servient estate has the right to
demand relocation of the servitude to a more convenient place at his own expense, provided that
it affords the same facility to the owner of the enclosed estate.
Art. 696.1. Utility. As used in this Section, a utility is a service such as electricity, water,
sewer, gas, telephone, cable television, and other commonly used power and communication
networks required for the operation of an ordinary household or business.
CONVENTIONAL OR VOLUNTARY SERVITUDES
Art. 697. Right to establish predial servitudes; limitations. Predial servitudes may be
established by an owner on his estate or acquired for its benefit.
The use and extent of such servitudes are regulated by the title by which they are created, and, in
the absence of such regulation, by the following rules.
Art. 698. Property susceptible of servitudes. Predial servitudes are established on, or for the
benefit of, distinct corporeal immovables.
Art. 699. Examples of predial servitudes. The following are examples of predial servitudes:
Rights of support, projection, drip, drain, or of preventing drain, those of view, of light, or of
preventing view or light from being obstructed, of raising buildings or walls, or of preventing
them from being raised, of passage, of drawing water, of aqueduct, of watering animals, and of
pasturage.
Art. 700. Servitude of support. The servitude of support is the right by which buildings or
other constructions of the dominant estate are permitted to rest on a wall of the servient estate.
Unless the title provides otherwise, the owner of the servient estate is bound to keep the wall fit
for the exercise of the servitude, but he may be relieved of this charge by abandoning the wall.
Art. 701. Servitude of view. The servitude of view is the right by which the owner of the
dominant estate enjoys a view; this includes the right to prevent the raising of constructions on
the servient estate that would obstruct the view.
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Art. 702. Prohibition of view. The servitude of prohibition of view is the right of the owner of
the dominant estate to prevent or limit openings of view on the servient estate.
Art. 703. Servitude of light. The servitude of light is the right by which the owner of the
dominant estate is entitled to make openings in a common wall for the admission of light; this
includes the right to prevent the neighbor from making an obstruction.
Art. 704. Prohibition of light. The servitude of prohibition of light is the right of the owner of
the dominant estate to prevent his neighbor from making an opening in his own wall for the
admission of light or that limits him to certain lights only.
Art. 705. Servitude of passage. The servitude of passage is the right for the benefit of the
dominant estate whereby persons, animals, utilities, or vehicles are permitted to pass through the
servient estate. Unless the title provides otherwise, the extent of the right and the mode of its
exercise shall be suitable for the kind of traffic or utility necessary for the reasonable use of the
dominant estate.
Art. 706. Servitudes; affirmative or negative. Predial servitudes are either affirmative or
negative.
Affirmative servitudes are those that give the right to the owner of the dominant estate to do a
certain thing on the servient estate. Such are the servitudes of right of way, drain, and support.
Negative servitudes are those that impose on the owner of the servient estate the duty to abstain
from doing something on his estate. Such are the servitudes of prohibition of building and of the
use of an estate as a commercial or industrial establishment.
Art. 707. Servitudes; apparent or nonapparent. Predial servitudes are either apparent or
nonapparent. Apparent servitudes are those that are perceivable by exterior signs, works, or
constructions; such as a roadway, a window in a common wall, or an aqueduct.
Nonapparent servitudes are those that have no exterior sign of their existence; such as the
prohibition of building on an estate or of building above a particular height.
Art. 730. Interpretation of servitude. Doubt as to the existence, extent, or manner of exercise
of a predial servitude shall be resolved in favor of the servient estate.
Art. 731. Charge expressly for the benefit of an estate. A charge established on an estate
expressly for the benefit of another estate is a predial servitude although it is not so designated.
Art. 740. Modes of acquisition of servitudes. Apparent servitudes may be acquired by title, by
destination of the owner, or by acquisitive prescription.
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Art. 742. Acquisitive prescription. The laws governing acquisitive prescription of immovable
property apply to apparent servitudes. An apparent servitude may be acquired by peaceable and
uninterrupted possession of the right for ten years in good faith and by just title; it may also be
acquired by uninterrupted possession for thirty years without title or good faith.
Art. 745. Right to enter into the servient estate. The owner of the dominant estate has the
right to enter with his workmen and equipment into the part of the servient estate that is needed
for the construction or repair of works required for the use and preservation of the servitude. He
may deposit materials to be used for the works and the debris that may result, under the
obligation of causing the least possible damage and of removing them as soon as possible.
Art. 750. Location of servitude when the title is silent. If the title does not specify the
location of the servitude, the owner of the servient estate shall designate the location.
Art. 751. Destruction of dominant or of servient estate. A predial servitude is extinguished
by the permanent and total destruction of the dominant estate or of the part of the servient estate
burdened with the servitude.
Art. 753. Prescription for nonuse. A predial servitude is extinguished by nonuse for ten years.
Art. 754. Commencement of nonuse. Prescription of nonuse begins to run for affirmative
servitudes from the date of their last use, and for negative servitudes from the date of the
occurrence of an event contrary to the servitude.
An event contrary to the servitude is such as the destruction of works necessary for its exercise
or the construction of works that prevent its exercise.
Art. 757. Sufficiency of acts by third persons. A predial servitude is preserved by the use
made of it by anyone, even a stranger, if it is used as appertaining to the dominant estate.
Art. 765. Confusion. A predial servitude is extinguished when the dominant and the servient
estates are acquired in their entirety by the same person.
Art. 771. Renunciation of servitude. A predial servitude is extinguished by an express and
written renunciation by the owner of the dominant estate.
Art. 773. Expiration of time or happening of condition. A predial servitude established for a
term or under a resolutory condition is extinguished upon the expiration of the term or the
happening of the condition.
Art. 774. Dissolution of the right of the grantor. A predial servitude is extinguished by the
dissolution of the right of the person who established it.
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F. BUILDING RESTRICTIONS
Art. 775. Building restrictions. Building restrictions are charges imposed by the owner of an
immovable in pursuance of a general plan governing building standards, specified uses, and
improvements. The plan must be feasible and capable of being preserved.
Art. 776. Establishment. Building restrictions may be established only by juridical act
executed by the owner of an immovable or by all the owners of the affected immovables. Once
established, building restrictions may be amended or terminated as provided in this Title.
Art. 780. Amendment and termination of building restrictions. Building restrictions may be
amended, whether such amendment lessens or increases a restriction, or may terminate or be
terminated, as provided in the act that establishes them. In the absence of such provision,
building restrictions may be amended or terminated for the whole or a part of the restricted area
by agreement of owners representing more than one-half of the land area affected by the
restrictions, excluding streets and street rights-of-way, if the restrictions have been in effect for at
least fifteen years, or by agreement of both owners representing two-thirds of the land area
affected and two-thirds of the owners of the land affected by the restrictions, excluding streets
and street rights-of-way, if the restrictions have been in effect for more than ten years.
Art. 782. Abandonment of plan or of restriction. Building restrictions terminate by
abandonment of the whole plan or by a general abandonment of a particular restriction. When
the entire plan is abandoned the affected area is freed of all restrictions; when a particular
restriction is abandoned, the affected area is freed of that restriction only.
Art. 783. Matters of interpretation and application. Doubt as to the existence, validity, or
extent of building restrictions is resolved in favor of the unrestricted use of the immovable. The
provisions of the Louisiana Condominium Act, the Louisiana Timesharing Act, and the
Louisiana Homeowners Association Act, shall supersede any and all provisions of this Title in
the event of a conflict.
G. BOUNDARIES
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 784. Boundary; marker. A boundary is the line of separation between contiguous lands.
A boundary marker is a natural or artificial object that marks on the ground the line of separation
of contiguous lands.
Art. 785. Fixing of the boundary. The fixing of the boundary may involve determination of
the line of separation between contiguous lands, if it is uncertain or disputed; it may also involve
the placement of markers on the ground, if markers were never placed, were wrongly placed, or
are no longer to be seen.
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The boundary is fixed in accordance with the following rules.
Art. 786. Persons who may compel fixing of boundary. The boundary may be fixed upon the
demand of an owner or of one who possesses as owner. It may also be fixed upon the demand of
a usufructuary but it is not binding upon the naked owner unless he has been made a party to the
proceeding.
Art. 787. Lessee may compel lessor. When necessary to protect his interest, a lessee may
compel the lessor to fix the boundary of the land subject to the lease.
Art. 788. Imprescriptibility of the right. The right to compel the fixing of the boundary
between contiguous lands is imprescriptible.
Art. 789. Fixing of boundary judicially or extrajudicially. The boundary may be fixed
judicially or extrajudicially. It is fixed extrajudicially when the parties, by written agreement,
determine the line of separation between their lands with or without reference to markers on the
ground.
Art. 790. Costs. When the boundary is fixed extrajudicially costs are divided equally between
the adjoining owners in the absence of contrary agreement. When the boundary is fixed
judicially court costs are taxed in accordance with the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Expenses of litigation not taxed as court costs are borne by the person who has incurred them.
Art. 791. Liability for unauthorized removal of markers. When the boundary has been
marked judicially or extrajudicially, one who removes boundary markers without court authority
is liable for damages. He may also be compelled to restore the markers to their previous
location.
EFFECT OF TITLES, PRESCRIPTION, OR POSSESSION
Art. 792. Fixing of boundary according to ownership or possession. The court shall fix the
boundary according to the ownership of the parties; if neither party proves ownership, the
boundary shall be fixed according to limits established by possession.
Art. 793. Determination of ownership according to titles. When both parties rely on titles
only, the boundary shall be fixed according to titles. When the parties trace their titles to a
common author preference shall be given to the more ancient title.
Art. 794. Determination of ownership according to prescription. When a party proves
acquisitive prescription, the boundary shall be fixed according to limits established by
prescription rather than titles. If a party and his ancestors in title possessed for thirty years
without interruption, within visible bounds, more land than their title called for, the boundary
shall be fixed along these bounds.
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Art. 795. Effect of boundary agreement. When the boundary is fixed extrajudicially, the
agreement of the parties has the effect of a compromise.
Art. 796. Error in the location of markers; rectification. When visible markers have been
erroneously placed by one of the contiguous owners alone, or not in accordance with a written
agreement fixing the boundary, the error may be rectified by the court unless a contiguous owner
has acquired ownership up to the visible bounds by thirty years possession.
H. OWNERSHIP IN INDIVISION
Art. 797. Ownership in indivision; definition. Ownership of the same thing by two or more
persons is ownership in indivision. In the absence of other provisions of law or juridical act, the
shares of all co-owners are presumed to be equal.
Art. 801. Use and management by agreement. The use and management of the thing held in
indivision is determined by agreement of all the co-owners.
Art. 802. Right to use the thing. Except as otherwise provided in Article 801, a co-owner is
entitled to use the thing held in indivision according to its destination, but he cannot prevent
another co-owner from making such use of it. As against third persons, a co-owner has the right
to use and enjoy the thing as if he were the sole owner.
Art. 803. Use and management of the thing in the absence of agreement. When the mode of
use and management of the thing held in indivision is not determined by an agreement of all the
co-owners and partition is not available, a court, upon petition by a co-owner, may determine the
use and management.
Art. 805. Disposition of undivided share. A co-owner may freely lease, alienate, or encumber
his share of the thing held in indivision. The consent of all the co-owners is required for the
lease, alienation, or encumbrance of the entire thing held in indivision.
Art. 807. Right to partition; exclusion by agreement. No one may be compelled to hold a
thing in indivision with another unless the contrary has been provided by law or juridical act.
Any co-owner has a right to demand partition of a thing held in indivision. Partition may be
excluded by agreement for up to fifteen years, or for such other period as provided in R.S.
9:1702 or other specific law.
Art. 808. Partition excluded. Partition of a thing held in indivision is excluded when its use is
indispensable for the enjoyment of another thing owned by one or more of the co-owners.
Art. 809. Judicial and extrajudicial partition. The mode of partition may be determined by
agreement of all the co-owners. In the absence of such an agreement, a co-owner may demand
judicial partition.
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Art. 810. Partition in kind. The court shall decree partition in kind when the thing held in
indivision is susceptible to division into as many lots of nearly equal value as there are shares
and the aggregate value of all lots is not significantly lower than the value of the property in the
state of indivision.
Art. 811. Partition by licitation or by private sale. When the thing held in indivision is not
susceptible to partition in kind, the court shall decree a partition by licitation or by private sale
and the proceeds shall be distributed to the co-owners in proportion to their shares.
Art. 812. Effect of partition on real rights. When a thing held in indivision is partitioned in
kind or by licitation, a real right burdening the thing is not affected.
Art. 813. Partition in kind. When a thing is partitioned in kind, a real right that burdens the
share of a co-owner attaches to the part of the thing allotted to him.
Art. 814. Rescission of partition for lesion. An extrajudicial partition may be rescinded on
account of lesion if the value of the part received by a co-owner is less by more than one-fourth
of the fair market value of the portion he should have received.
Art. 815. Partition by licitation. When a thing is partitioned by licitation, a mortgage, lien, or
privilege that burdens the share of a co-owner attaches to his share of the proceeds of the sale.
Art. 816. Partition in kind; warranty. When a thing is partitioned in kind, each co-owner
incurs the warranty of a vendor toward his co-owners to the extent of his share.
Art. 817. Imprescriptibility of action. The action for partition is imprescriptible.
Art. 818. Other rights held in indivision. The provisions governing co-ownership apply to
other rights held in indivision to the extent compatible with the nature of those rights.
I. OBLIGATIONS IN GENERAL
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 1756. Obligations; definition. An obligation is a legal relationship whereby a person,
called the obligor, is bound to render a performance in favor of another, called the obligee.
Performance may consist of giving, doing, or not doing something.
Art. 1757. Sources of obligations. Obligations arise from contracts and other declarations of
will. They also arise directly from the law, regardless of a declaration of will, in instances such
as wrongful acts, the management of the affairs of another, unjust enrichment and other acts or
facts.
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Art. 1759. Good faith. Good faith shall govern the conduct of the obligor and the obligee in
whatever pertains to the obligation.
PROOF OF OBLIGATIONS
Art. 1831. Party must prove obligation. A party who demands performance of an obligation
must prove the existence of the obligation.
A party who asserts that an obligation is null, or that it has been modified or extinguished, must
prove the facts or acts giving rise to the nullity, modification, or extinction.
Art. 1832. Written form required by law. When the law requires a contract to be in written
form, the contract may not be proved by testimony or by presumption, unless the written
instrument has been destroyed, lost or stolen.
Art. 1839. Transfer of immovable property. A transfer of immovable property must be made
by authentic act or by act under private signature. Nevertheless, an oral transfer is valid between
the parties when the property has been actually delivered and the transferor recognizes the
transfer when interrogated on oath.
An instrument involving immovable property shall have effect against third persons only from
the time it is filed for registry in the parish where the property is located.
Art. 1840. Copy of authentic act. When certified by the notary public or other officer before
whom the act was passed, a copy of an authentic act constitutes proof of the contents of the
original, unless the copy is proved to be incorrect.
Art. 1841. Copy of recorded writing. When an authentic act or an acknowledged act under
private signature has been filed for registry with a public officer, a copy of the act thus filed,
when certified by that officer, constitutes proof of the contents of the original.
EXTINCTION OF OBLIGATIONS
Art. 1854. Extinction by performance. Performance by the obligor extinguishes the
obligation.
Art. 1855. Performance by a third person. Performance may be rendered by a third person,
even against the will of the obligee, unless the obligor or the obligee has an interest in
performance only by the obligor.
Performance rendered by a third person effects subrogation only when so provided by law or by
agreement.
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Art. 1873. Obligor not liable when failure caused by fortuitous event. An obligor is not
liable for his failure to perform when it is caused by a fortuitous event that makes performance
impossible.
An obligor is, however, liable for his failure to perform when he has assumed the risk of such a
fortuitous event.
An obligor is liable also when the fortuitous event occurred after he has been put in default.
An obligor is likewise liable when the fortuitous event that caused his failure to perform has been
preceded by his fault, without which the failure would not have occurred.
Art. 1875. Fortuitous event. A fortuitous event is one that, at the time the contract was made,
could not have been reasonably foreseen.
Art. 1876. Contract dissolved when performance becomes impossible. When the entire
performance owed by one party has become impossible because of a fortuitous event, the
contract is dissolved.
The other party may then recover any performance he has already rendered.
Art. 1877. Fortuitous event that has made performance impossible in part. When a
fortuitous event has made a party’s performance impossible in part, the court may reduce the
other party’s counterperformance proportionally, or, according to the circumstances, may declare
the contract dissolved.
Art. 1878. Fortuitous event after obligor performed in part. If a contract is dissolved
because of a fortuitous event that occurred after an obligor has performed in part, the obligee is
bound but only to the extent that he was enriched by the obligor’s partial performance.
J. CONVENTIONAL OBLIGATIONS OR CONTRACTS
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 1906. Definition of contract. A contract is an agreement by two or more parties whereby
obligations are created, modified, or extinguished.
CONTRACTUAL CAPACITY AND EXCEPTIONS
Art. 1918. General statement of capacity. All persons have capacity to contract, except
unemancipated minors, interdicts, and persons deprived of reason at the time of contracting.
Art. 1919. Right to plead rescission. A contract made by a person without legal capacity is
relatively null and may be rescinded only at the request of that person or his legal representative.
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Art. 1920. Right to require confirmation or rescission of the contract. Immediately after
discovering the incapacity, a party, who at the time of contracting was ignorant of the incapacity
of the other party, may require from that party, if the incapacity has ceased, or from the legal
representative if it has not, that the contract be confirmed or rescinded.
Art. 1921. Rescission of contract for incapacity. Upon rescission of a contract on the ground
of incapacity, each party or his legal representative shall restore to the other what he has received
thereunder. When restoration is impossible or impracticable, the court may award compensation
to the party to whom restoration cannot be made.
Art. 1923. Incapacity of unemancipated minor; exceptions. A contract by an unemancipated
minor may be rescinded on grounds of incapacity except when made for the purpose of
providing the minor with something necessary for his support or education, or for a purpose
related to his business.
CONSENT
Art. 1927. Consent. A contract is formed by the consent of the parties established through offer
and acceptance.
Unless the law prescribes a certain formality for the intended contract, offer and acceptance may
be made orally, in writing, or by action or inaction that under the circumstances is clearly
indicative of consent.
Unless otherwise specified in the offer, there need not be conformity between the manner in
which the offer is made and the manner in which the acceptance is made.
Art. 1928. Irrevocable offer. An offer that specifies a period of time for acceptance is
irrevocable during that time.
When the offeror manifests an intent to give the offeree a delay within which to accept, without
specifying a time, the offer is irrevocable for a reasonable time.
Art. 1940. Acceptance only by completed performance. When, according to usage or the
nature of the contract, or its own terms, an offer made to a particular offeree can be accepted
only by rendering a completed performance, the offeror cannot revoke the offer, once the offeree
has begun to perform, for the reasonable time necessary to complete the performance. The
offeree, however, is not bound to complete the performance he has begun.
The offeror’s duty of performance is conditional on completion or tender of the requested
performance.
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Art. 1941. Notice of commencement of performance. When commencement of the
performance either constitutes acceptance or makes the offer irrevocable, the offeree must give
prompt notice of that commencement unless the offeror knows or should know that the offeree
has begun to perform. An offeree who fails to give the notice is liable for damages.
Art. 1942. Acceptance by silence. When, because of special circumstances, the offeree’s
silence leads the offeror reasonably to believe that a contact has been formed, the offer is deemed
accepted.
Art. 1943. Acceptance not in accordance with offer. An acceptance not in accordance with
the terms of the offer is deemed to be a counteroffer.
EFFECTS OF CONVENTIONAL OBLIGATIONS
Art. 1983. Law for the parties; performance in good faith. Contracts have the effect of law
for the parties and may be dissolved only through the consent of the parties or on grounds
provided by law. Contracts must be performed in good faith.
Art. 1984. Rights and obligations will pass to successors. Rights and obligations arising from
a contract are heritable and assignable unless the law, the terms of the contract or its nature
preclude such effects.
Art. 1986. Right of the obligee. Upon an obligor’s failure to perform an obligation to deliver a
thing, or not to do an act, or to execute an instrument, the court shall grant specific performance
plus damages for delay if the obligee so demands. If specific performance is impracticable, the
court may allow damages to the obligee.
Upon a failure to perform an obligation that has another object, such as an obligation to do, the
granting of specific performance is at the discretion of the court.
Art. 1989. Damages for delay. Damages for delay in the performance of an obligation are
owed from the time the obligor is put in default.
Other damages are owed from the time the obligor has failed to perform.
Art. 1990. Obligor put in default by arrival of term. When a term for the performance of an
obligation is either fixed, or is clearly determinable by the circumstances, the obligor is put in
default by the mere arrival of that term. In other cases, the obligor must be put in default by the
obligee, but not before performance is due.
Art. 1991. Manners of putting in default. An obligee may put the obligor in default by a
written request of performance, or by an oral request of performance made before two witnesses,
or by filing suit for performance, or by a specific provision of the contract.
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Art. 1994. Obligor liable for failure to perform. An obligor is liable for the damages caused
by his failure to perform a conventional obligation.
A failure to perform results from nonperformance, defective performance, or delay in
performance.
Art. 1995. Measure of damages. Damages are measured by the loss sustained by the obligee
and the profit of which he has been deprived.
Art. 1996. Obligor in good faith. An obligor in good faith is liable only for the damages that
were foreseeable at the time the contact was made.
Art. 1997. Obligor in bad faith. An obligor in bad faith is liable for all the damages,
foreseeable or not, that are a direct consequence of his failure to perform.
K. OBLIGATIONS ARISING WITHOUT AGREEMENT
OF OFFENSES AND QUASI OFFENSES
Art. 2315. Liability for acts causing damages.
A. Every act whatever of man that causes damage to another obliges him by whose fault it
happened to repair it.
B. Damages may include loss of consortium, service, and society, and shall be recoverable
by the same respective categories of persons who would have had a cause of action for wrongful
death of an injured person. Damages do not include costs for future medical treatment, services,
surveillance, or procedures of any kind unless such treatment, services, surveillance, or
procedures are directly related to a manifest physical or mental injury or disease. Damages shall
include any sales taxes paid by the owner on the repair or replacement of the property damaged.
Art. 2316. Negligence, imprudence or want of skill. Every person is responsible for the
damage he occasions not merely by his act, but by his negligence, his imprudence, or his want of
skill.
L. OF REGISTRY
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 3338. Instruments creating real rights in immovables; recordation required to affect
third persons. The rights and obligations established or created by the following written
instruments are without effect as to a third person unless the instrument is registered by
recording it in the appropriate mortgage or conveyance records pursuant to the provisions of this
Title:
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(1) An instrument that transfers an immovable or establishes a real right in or over an
immovable.
(2) The lease of an immovable.
(3) An option or right of first refusal, or a contract to buy, sell, or lease an immovable or to
establish a real right in or over an immovable.
(4) An instrument that modifies, terminates, or transfers the rights created or evidenced by
the instruments described in Subparagraphs (1) through (3) of this Article.
Art. 3339. Matters not of record. A matter of capacity or authority, the occurrence of a
suspensive or a resolutory condition, the exercise of an option or right of first refusal, a tacit
acceptance, a termination of rights that depends upon the occurrence of a condition, and a similar
matter pertaining to rights and obligations evidenced by a recorded instrument are effective as to
a third person although not evidenced of record.
Art. 3340. Effect of recording other documents. If the law or a recorded instrument expressly
makes the recordation of an act or instrument a condition to the creation, extinction, or
modification of rights or obligations, such act or instrument is not effective as to a third person
until it is recorded.
The recordation of a document, other than an instrument described in Article 3338, that is
required by law to be registered, filed, or otherwise recorded with the clerk of court or recorder
of conveyances or of mortgages or in the conveyance or mortgage records shall have only the
effect provided for by such law.
Art. 3341. Limits on the effect of recordation. The recordation of an instrument:
(1) Does not create a presumption that the instrument is valid or genuine.
(2) Does not create a presumption as to the capacity or status of the parties.
(3) Has no effect unless the law expressly provides for its recordation.
(4) Is effective only with respect to immovables located in the parish where the instrument
is recorded.
Art. 3342. Parties to an instrument are precluded from raising certain matters. A party to
a recorded instrument may not contradict the terms of the instrument or statements of fact it
contains to the prejudice of a third person who after its recordation acquires an interest in or over
the immovable to which the instrument relates.
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Art. 3343. Third person defined. A third person is a person who is not a party to or personally
bound by an instrument.
A witness to an act is a third person with respect to it.
A person who by contract assumes an obligation or is bound by contract to recognize a right is
not a third person with respect to the obligation or right or to the instrument creating or
establishing it.
Art. 3344. Refusal for failure of original signature or proper certification; effect of
recordation; necessity of proof of signature recordation of a duplicate.
A. The recorder shall refuse to record:
(1) An instrument that does not bear the original signature of a party.
(2) A judgment, administrative decree, or other act of a governmental agency that is not
properly certified in a manner provided by law.
B. Recordation does not dispense with the necessity of proving that the signatures are
genuine unless they are authenticated in the manner provided by law.
Art. 3345. Recordation of a duplicate. The recordation of a duplicate of an instrument, as
defined in Code of Evidence Article 1001(5), that does not bear the original signature of a party,
shall nonetheless have the same effect as recordation of the original instrument. Recordation
does not dispense with proving that the recorded instrument is a duplicate.
Art. 3346. Place of recordation; duty of the recorder.
A. An instrument creating, establishing, or relating to a mortgage or privilege over an
immovable, or the pledge of the lessor's rights in the lease of an immovable and its rents, is
recorded in the mortgage records of the parish in which the immovable is located. All other
instruments are recorded in the conveyance records of that parish.
B. The recorder shall maintain in the manner prescribed by law all instruments that are
recorded with him.
Art. 3347. Effect of recordation arises upon filing. The effect of recordation arises when an
instrument is filed with the recorder and is unaffected by subsequent errors or omissions of the
recorder. An instrument is filed with a recorder when he accepts it for recordation in his office.
Art. 3348. Time of filing; determination. Upon acceptance of an instrument the recorder shall
immediately write upon or stamp it with the date and time it is filed and the registry number
assigned to it.
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Art. 3349. Failure to endorse; effect. If the recorder upon acceptance of an instrument fails to
endorse an instrument with the date and time of filing or if it bears the same date and time of
filing as another instrument, it is presumed that the instrument was filed with respect to other
instruments in the order indicated by their registry numbers and that the filing of the instrument
occurred immediately before an instrument bearing the next consecutive registry number.
Art. 3350. Presumption as to time of filing. When the date and time of filing cannot be
determined under Articles 3348 and 3349, it is presumed that the instrument was filed at the first
determinable date and time that it appears in the records of the recorder.
Art. 3351. Ancient documents; presumptions. An instrument that has been recorded for at
least ten years is presumed to have been signed by all persons whose purported signatures are
affixed thereto, and, if a judgment, that it was rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Art. 3352. Recorded acts; required information.
A. An instrument shall contain the following information when appropriate for its type and
nature:
(1) The full name, domicile, and permanent mailing address of the parties.
(2) The marital status of all of the parties who are individuals, including the full name of
the present spouse or a declaration that the party is unmarried.
(3) A declaration as to whether there has been a change in the marital status of any party
who is a transferor of the immovable or interest or right since he acquired it, and if so, when and
in what manner the change occurred.
(4) The municipal number or postal address of the property, if it has one.
(5) The last four digits of the social security number or the taxpayer identification number
of the mortgagor, whichever is applicable.
(6) The notary's identification number or the attorney's bar roll number and the typed,
printed, or stamped name of the notary and witnesses if the instrument is an authentic act of, or
an authenticated act by, a notary.
B. The recorder shall not refuse to record an instrument because it does not contain the
information required by this Article. The omission of that information does not impair the
validity of an instrument or the effect given to its recordation.
C. The recorder shall only display the last four digits of the social security numbers listed
on instruments that his office makes available for viewing on the Internet.
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Art. 3353. Effect of indefinite or incomplete name. A recorded instrument is effective with
respect to a third person if the name of a party is not so indefinite, incomplete, or erroneous as to
be misleading and the instrument as a whole reasonably alerts a person examining the records
that the instrument may be that of the party.
MORTGAGE RECORDS
Art. 3354. Applicability. The provisions of this Chapter apply only to the mortgages and
privileges encumbering immovables and to pledges of the lessor's rights in the lease of an
immovable and its rents.
Art. 3355. Mortgage, pledge, or privilege affecting property in several parishes. An act of
mortgage, contract of pledge, instrument evidencing a privilege, or other instrument that affects
property located in more than one parish may be executed in multiple originals for recordation in
each of the several parishes. An original that is filed with a recorder need only describe property
that is within the parish in which it is filed.
A certified copy of an instrument that is recorded in the records of a parish need only describe
property that is within the parish in which it is filed.
Art. 3356. Transfers, amendments, and releases.
A. A transferee of an obligation secured by a mortgage, pledge, or privilege is not bound
by any unrecorded act releasing, amending, or otherwise modifying the mortgage, pledge, or
privilege if he is a third person with respect to that unrecorded act.
B. A recorded transfer, modification, amendment, or release of a mortgage, pledge, or
privilege made by the obligee of record is effective as to a third person notwithstanding that the
obligation secured by the mortgage, pledge, or privilege has been transferred to another.
C. For the purpose of this Chapter, the obligee of record of a mortgage, pledge, or
privilege is the person identified by the mortgage records as the obligee of the secured
obligation.
Art. 3357. Duration; general rule. Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, the effect
of recordation of an instrument creating a mortgage or pledge or evidencing a privilege ceases
ten years after the date of the instrument.
Art. 3358. Duration of recordation of certain mortgages, pledges, and privileges. If an
instrument creating a mortgage or pledge or evidencing a privilege describes the maturity of any
obligation secured by the mortgage, pledge, or privilege and if any part of the described
obligation matures nine years or more after the date of the instrument, the effect of recordation
ceases six years after the latest maturity date described in the instrument.
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Art. 3359. Duration of recordation of judicial mortgage. The effect of recordation of a
judgment creating a judicial mortgage ceases ten years after the date of the judgment.
Art. 3360. Duration of recordation of mortgage given by tutor, curator, or succession
representative.
A. The effect of recordation of a legal mortgage over the property of a natural tutor, or of a
special mortgage given for the faithful performance of his duties by a tutor or a curator of an
interdict, ceases four years after the tutorship or curatorship terminates, or, if the tutor or curator
resigns or is removed, four years after the judgment that authorizes the resignation or removal.
B. The effect of recordation of a special mortgage given for the faithful performance of his
duties by a curator of an absent person or by a succession representative ceases four years after
homologation of his final account, or, if the curator or representative resigns or is removed, four
years after the judgment that authorizes that resignation or removal. In any event, the effect of
recordation ceases ten years after the date of the act of mortgage.
Art. 3361. Effect of amendment. If before the effect of recordation ceases an instrument is
recorded that amends a recorded mortgage, pledge, or privilege to describe or modify the
maturity of a particular obligation that it secures, then the time of cessation of the effect of the
recordation is determined by reference to the maturity of the obligation last becoming due
described in the mortgage, pledge, or privilege as amended.
Art. 3362. Method of reinscription. A person may reinscribe a recorded instrument creating a
mortgage or pledge or evidencing a privilege by recording a signed written notice of
reinscription. The notice shall state the name of the mortgagor or pledgor, or the name of the
obligor of the debt secured by the privilege as it appears in the recorded instrument, as well as
the registry number or other appropriate recordation information of the instrument or of a prior
notice of reinscription, and shall declare that the instrument is reinscribed.
Art. 3363. Method of reinscription exclusive. The method of reinscription provided in this
Chapter is exclusive. Neither an amendment of an instrument creating a mortgage or pledge, or
evidencing a privilege nor an acknowledgment of the existence of a mortgage, pledge, or
privilege by the mortgagor, pledgor, or the obligor, constitutes a reinscription of the instrument.
Art. 3364. Effect of timely recordation of notice of reinscription. A notice of reinscription
that is recorded before the effect of recordation ceases continues that effect for ten years from the
date the notice is recorded.
Art. 3365. Effect of notice recorded after cessation of effect of recordation.
A notice of reinscription that is recorded after the effect of recordation of the instrument
sought to be reinscribed has ceased, again produces the effects of recordation, but only from the
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time the notice of reinscription is recorded. The effect of recordation pursuant to this Article
shall continue for ten years from the date on which the notice of reinscription is recorded, and the
instrument may be reinscribed thereafter from time to time as provided by Article 3362.
Reinscription pursuant to this Article does not require that the mortgage or pledge or
evidence of privilege be again recorded, even if the original recordation is cancelled.
Art. 3366. Cancellation upon written request; form and content.
A. The recorder of mortgages shall cancel, in whole or in part and in the manner
prescribed by law, the recordation of a mortgage, pledge, or privilege upon receipt of a written
request for cancellation in a form prescribed by law and that:
(1) Identifies the mortgage, pledge, or privilege by reference to the place in the records
where it is recorded; and
(2) Is signed by the person requesting the cancellation.
B. The effect of recordation of the instrument ceases upon cancellation by the recorder
pursuant to the provisions of this Article.
Art. 3367. Cancellation of recordation after effect of recordation has ceased. If the effect of
recordation of a mortgage, pledge, or privilege has ceased for lack of reinscription or has
prescribed by lapse of time under R.S. 9:5685, the recorder upon receipt of a written signed
application shall cancel its recordation.
Art. 3368. Cancellation of judicial mortgage arising from judgment that has prescribed.
Notwithstanding the reinscription of a judicial mortgage created by the filing of a judgment of a
court of this state, the recorder shall cancel the judicial mortgage from his records upon any
person’s written request to which is attached a certificate from the clerk of the court rendering
the judgment that no suit or motion was filed for its revival within the time required by Article
3501 or of a certified copy of a final and definitive judgment of the court rejecting the demands
of the plaintiff in a suit or motion to revive the judgment.
M. OCCUPANCY AND POSSESSION
POSSESSION
Art. 3421. Possession. Possession is the detention or enjoyment of a corporeal thing, movable
or immovable, that one holds or exercises by himself or by another who keeps or exercises it in
his name.
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The exercise of a real right, such as a servitude, with the intent to have it as one’s own is quasi-
possession. The rules governing possession apply by analogy to the quasi-possession of
incorporeals.
Art. 3422. Nature of possession; right to possess. Possession is a matter of fact; nevertheless,
one who has possessed a thing for over a year acquires the right to possess it.
Art. 3423. Rights of possessors. A possessor is considered provisionally as owner of the thing
he possesses until the right of the true owner is established.
Art. 3424. Acquisition of possession. To acquire possession, one must intend to possess as
owner and must take corporeal possession of the thing.
Art. 3425. Corporeal possession. Corporeal possession is the exercise of physical acts of use,
detention, or enjoyment over a thing.
Art. 3426. Constructive possession. One who possesses a part of an immovable by virtue of a
title is deemed to have constructive possession within the limits of his title. In the absence of
title, one has possession only of the area he actually possesses.
Art. 3428. Acquisition of possession through another. One may acquire possession of a thing
through another who takes it for him and in his name. The person taking possession must intend
to do so for another.
Art. 3429. Exercise of possession by another. Possession may be exercised by the possessor
or by another who holds the thing for him and in his name. Thus, a lessor possesses through his
lessee.
Art. 3431. Retention of possession; civil possession. Once acquired, possession is retained by
the intent to possess as owner even if the possessor ceases to possess corporeally. This is civil
possession.
Art. 3432. Presumption of retention of possession. The intent to retain possession is
presumed unless there is clear proof of a contrary intention.
Art. 3433. Loss of possession. Possession is lost when the possessor manifests his intention to
abandon it or when he is evicted by another by force or usurpation.
Art. 3441. Transfer of possession. Possession is transferable by universal title or by particular
title.
Art. 3442. Tacking of possession. The possession of the transferor is tacked to that of the
transferee if there has been no interruption of possession.
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N. PRESCRIPTION
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 3445. Kinds of prescription. There are three kinds of prescription: acquisitive
prescription, liberative prescription, and prescription of nonuse.
Art. 3446. Acquisitive prescription. Acquisitive prescription is a mode of acquiring ownership
or other real rights by possession for a period to time.
Art. 3447. Liberative prescription. Liberative prescription is a mode of barring of actions as a
result of inaction for a period of time.
Art. 3448. Prescription of nonuse. Prescription of nonuse is a mode of extinction of a real
right other than ownership as a result of failure to exercise the right for a period of time.
Art. 3449. Renunciation of prescription. Prescription may be renounced only after it has
accrued.
Art. 3450. Express or tacit renunciation. Renunciation may be express or tacit. Tacit
renunciation results from circumstances that give rise to a presumption that the advantages of
prescription have been abandoned.
Nevertheless, with respect to immovables, renunciation of acquisitive prescription must be
express and in writing.
Art. 3452. Necessity for pleading prescription. Prescription must be pleaded. Courts may not
supply a plea of prescription.
Art. 3457. Prescription established by legislation only. There is no prescription other than
that established by legislation.
INTERRUPTION AND SUSPENSION OF PRESCRIPTION
Art. 3462. Interruption by filing of suit or by service of process. Prescription is interrupted
when the owner commences action against the possessor, or when the obligee commences action
against the obligor, in a court of competent jurisdiction and venue. If action is commenced in an
incompetent court, or in an improper venue, prescription is interrupted only as to a defendant
served by process within the prescriptive period.
Art. 3463. Duration of interruption; abandonment or discontinuance of suit. An
interruption of prescription resulting from the filing of a suit in a competent court and in the
proper venue or from service of process within the prescriptive period continues as long as the
suit is pending. Interruption is considered never to have occurred if the plaintiff abandons,
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voluntarily dismisses the action at any time either before the defendant has made any appearance
of record or thereafter, or fails to prosecute the suit at the trial.
Art. 3465. Interruption of acquisitive prescription. Acquisitive prescription is interrupted
when possession is lost.
The interruption is considered never to have occurred if the possessor recovers possession within
one year or if he recovers possession later by virtue of an action brought within the year.
Art. 3467. Persons against whom prescription runs. Prescription runs against all persons
unless exception is established by legislation.
ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION
Art. 3473. Prescription of ten years. Ownership and other real rights in immovables may be
acquired by the prescription of ten years.
Art. 3475. Requisites. The requisites for the acquisitive prescription of ten years are:
possession of ten years, good faith, just title, and a thing susceptible of acquisition by
prescription.
Art. 3476. Attributes of possession. The possessor must have corporeal possession, or civil
possession preceded by corporeal possession, to acquire a thing by prescription.
The possession must be continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal.
Art. 3480. Good faith. For purposes of acquisitive prescription, a possessor is in good faith
when he reasonably believes, in light of objective considerations, that he is owner of the thing he
possesses.
Art. 3481. Presumption of good faith. Good faith is presumed. Neither error of fact nor error
of law defeats this presumption. This presumption is rebutted on proof that the possessor knows,
or should know, that he is not owner of the thing he possesses.
Art. 3482. Good faith at commencement of prescription. It is sufficient that possession has
commenced in good faith; subsequent bad faith does not prevent the accrual of prescription of
ten years.
Art. 3483. Just title. A just title is a juridical act, such as a sale, exchange, or donation,
sufficient to transfer ownership or another real right. The act must be written, valid in form, and
filed for registry in the conveyance records of the parish in which the immovable is situated.
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Art. 3486. Immovables; prescription of thirty years. Ownership and other real rights in
immovables may be acquired by the prescription of thirty years without the need of just title or
possession in good faith.
Art. 3487. Restriction as to extent of possession. For purposes of acquisitive prescription
without title, possession extends only to that which has been actually possessed.
LIBERATIVE PRESCRIPTION
Art. 3492. Delictual actions. Delictual actions are subject to a liberative prescription of one
year. This prescription commences to run from the day injury or damage is sustained. It does
not run against minors or interdicts in actions involving permanent disability and brought
pursuant to the Louisiana Products Liability Act or state law governing product liability actions
in effect at the time of the injury or damage.
Art. 3493. Damage to immovable property; commencement and accrual of prescription.
When damage is caused to immovable property, the one year prescription commences to run
from the day the owner of the immovable acquired, or should have acquired, knowledge of the
damage.
Art. 3494. Actions subject to a three-year prescription. The following actions are subject to
a liberative prescription of three years:
(1) An action for the recovery of compensation for services rendered, including payment
of salaries, wages, commissions, tuition fees, professional fees, fees and emoluments of public
officials, freight, passage, money, lodging and board;
(2) An action for arrearages of rent and annuities;
(3) An action on money lent;
(4) An action on an open account; and
(5) An action to recover underpayments or overpayments of royalties from the production
of minerals, provided that nothing herein applies to any payments, rent, or royalties derived from
state-owned properties.
Art. 3497. Actions subject to a five year prescription. The following actions are subject to a
liberative prescription of five years:
An action for annulment of a testament;
An action for the reduction of an excessive donation;
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An action for the rescission of a partition and warranty of portions; and
An action for damages for the harvesting of timber without the consent of the owner.
This prescription is suspended in favor of minors, during minority.
Art. 3499. Personal action. Unless otherwise provided by legislation, a personal action is
subject to a liberative prescription of ten years.
Art. 3500. Action against contractors and architects. An action against a contractor or an
architect on account of defects of construction, renovation, or repair of buildings and other works
is subject to a liberative prescription of ten years.
O. CONFLICT OF LAWS
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 3515. Determination of the applicable law; general and residual rule. Except as
otherwise provided in this Book, an issue in a case having contacts with other states is governed
by the law of the state whose policies would be most seriously impaired if its law were not
applied to that issue.
That state is determined by evaluating the strength and pertinence of the relevant policies of all
involved states in the light of: (1) the relationship of each state to the parties and the dispute; and
(2) the policies and needs of the interstate and international systems, including the policies of
upholding the justified expectations of parties and of minimizing the adverse consequences that
might follow from subjecting a party to the law of more than one state.
Art. 3516. Meaning of "State". As used in this Book, the word "state" denotes, as may be
appropriate: the United States or any state, territory, or possession thereof; the District of
Columbia; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and any foreign country or territorial subdivision
thereof that has its own system of law.
Art. 3517. Renvoi. Except as otherwise indicated, when the law of another state is applicable
under this Book, that law shall not include the law of conflict of laws of that state.
Nevertheless, in determining the state whose law is applicable to an issue under Articles 3515,
3519, 3537, and 3542, the law of conflict of laws of the involved foreign states may be taken into
consideration.
Art. 3518. Domicile. For the purposes of this Book, the domicile of a person is determined in
accordance with the law of this state. A juridical person may be treated as a domiciliary of either
the state of its formation or the state of its principal place of business, whichever is most
pertinent to the particular issue.
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STATUS
Art. 3519. Status of natural persons; general principle. The status of a natural person and the
incidents and effects of that status are governed by the law of the state whose policies would be
most seriously impaired if its law were not applied to the particular issue.
That state is determined by evaluating the strength and pertinence of the relevant policies of the
involved states in the light of: (1) the relationship of each state, at any pertinent time, to the
dispute, the parties, and the person whose status is at issue; (2) the policies referred to in Article
3515; and (3) the policies of sustaining the validity of obligations voluntarily undertaken, of
protecting children, minors, and others in need of protection, and of preserving family values and
stability.
MARITAL PROPERTY
Art. 3524. Immovables situated in this state. Except as otherwise provided in this Title, the
rights and obligations of spouses with regard to immovables situated in this state are governed by
the law of this state. Whether such immovables are community or separate property is
determined in accordance with the law of this state, regardless of the domicile of the acquiring
spouse at the time of acquisition.
Art. 3525. Termination of community; immovables in another state acquired by a spouse
while domiciled in this state. Upon the termination of the community between spouses, either
of whom is domiciled in this state, their rights and obligations with regard to immovables
situated in another state acquired during marriage by either spouse while domiciled in this state,
which would be community property if situated in this state, shall be determined in accordance
with the law of this state. This provision may be enforced by a judgment recognizing the
spouse's right to a portion of the immovable or its value.
Art. 3526. Termination of community; movables and Louisiana immovables acquired by a
spouse while domiciled in another state. Upon termination of the community, or dissolution
by death or by divorce of the marriage of spouses either of whom is domiciled in this state, their
respective rights and obligations with regard to immovables situated in this state and movables,
wherever situated, that were acquired during the marriage by either spouse while domiciled in
another state shall be determined as follows:
(1) Property that is classified as community property under the law of this state shall be
treated as community property under that law; and
(2) Property that is not classified as community property under the law of this state shall be
treated as the separate property of the acquiring spouse. However, the other spouse shall be
entitled, in value only, to the same rights with regard to this property as would be granted by the
law of the state in which the acquiring spouse was domiciled at the time of acquisition.
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Art. 3527. Louisiana immovables acquired by a spouse while domiciled in another state;
death of the acquiring spouse while domiciled in another state. Upon the death of a spouse
domiciled outside this state, that spouse's immovables situated in this state and acquired by that
spouse while domiciled outside this state, which are not community property under the law of
this state, are subject to the same rights, in value only, in favor of the surviving spouse as
provided by the law of the domicile of the deceased at the time of death.
SUCCESSIONS
Art. 3528. Formal validity of testamentary dispositions. A testamentary disposition is valid
as to form if it is in writing and is made in conformity with: (1) the law of this state; or (2) the
law of the state of making at the time of making; or (3) the law of the state in which the testator
was domiciled at the time of making or at the time of death; or (4) with regard to immovables,
the law that would be applied by the courts of the state in which the immovables are situated.
Art. 3530. Capacity of heir or legatee. The capacity or unworthiness of an heir or legatee is
determined under the law of the state in which the deceased was domiciled at the time of his
death.
Nevertheless, with regard to immovables situated in this state, the legatee must qualify as a
person under the law of this state.
Art. 3533. Immovables situated in this state. Except as otherwise provided in this Title,
testate and intestate succession to immovables situated in this state is governed by the law of this
state.
The forced heirship law of this state does not apply if the deceased was domiciled outside this
state at the time of death and he left no forced heirs domiciled in this state at the time of his
death.
Art. 3534. Immovables situated in another state. Except as otherwise provided in this Title,
testate and intestate succession to immovables situated in another state is governed by the law
that would be applied by the courts of that state.
If the deceased died domiciled in this state and left at least one forced heir who at the time was
domiciled in this state, the value of those immovables shall be included in calculating the
disposable portion and in satisfying the legitime.
REAL RIGHTS
Art. 3535. Real rights in immovables. Real rights in immovables situated in this state are
governed by the law of this state.
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Real rights in immovables situated in another state are governed by the law that would be applied
by the courts of that state.
Whether a thing is an immovable is determined according to the substantive law of the state in
which the thing is situated.
CONVENTIONAL OBLIGATIONS
Art. 3537. General rule. Except as otherwise provided in this Title, an issue of conventional
obligations is governed by the law of the state whose policies would be most seriously impaired
if its law were not applied to that issue.
That state is determined by evaluating the strength and pertinence of the relevant policies of the
involved states in the light of: (1) the pertinent contacts of each state to the parties and the
transaction, including the place of negotiation, formation, and performance of the contract, the
location of the object of the contract, and the place of domicile, habitual residence, or business of
the parties; (2) the nature, type, and purpose of the contract; and (3) the policies referred to in
Article 3515, as well as the policies of facilitating the orderly planning of transactions, of
promoting multistate commercial intercourse, and of protecting one party from undue imposition
by the other.
Art. 3538. Form. A contract is valid as to form if made in conformity with: (1) the law of the
state of making; (2) the law of the state of performance to the extent that performance is to be
rendered in that state; (3) the law of the state of common domicile or place of business of the
parties; or (4) the law governing the substance of the contract under Articles 3537 or 3540.
Nevertheless, when for reasons of public policy the law governing the substance of the contract
under Article 3537 requires a certain form, there must be compliance with that form.
Art. 3541. Other juridical acts and quasi-contractual obligations. Unless otherwise
provided by the law of this state, the law applicable to juridical acts other than contracts and to
quasi-contractual obligations is determined in accordance with the principles of this Title.
II. LOUISIANA CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
A. COURT-APPOINTED EXPERTS
Art. 192. Appointment of expert witnesses; expenses.
(A) The appointment of expert witnesses is controlled by Louisiana Code of Evidence
Article 706.
(B) The reasonable fees and expenses of these experts shall be taxed as costs of court.
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Art. 373. Expert appointed by court. An expert appointed by a trial court to assist it in the
adjudication of a case in which his special skill and knowledge may aid the court is an officer of
the court from the time of his qualification until the rendition of final judgment in the case.
Art. 375. Neglect, failure, or refusal of expert or legal representative to perform a legal
duty when ordered to do so, subjects him to punishment for contempt of court. The neglect,
failure, or refusal of an expert appointed by the court, or a legal representative appointed or
confirmed by the court, to perform a legal duty when ordered to do so by the court, subjects him
to punishment for contempt of the court.
B. CLERKS
Art. 258. Electronic filing and recording of written instruments.
A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a clerk of court, as ex officio
recorder, the Orleans Parish register of conveyances, or the Orleans Parish recorder of
mortgages, hereinafter referred to as "recorder," may adopt and implement a published plan
which provides for the acceptance of an electronic record of any recordable written instrument
except, but not limited to, original maps, plats, property descriptions, or photographs as related to
the work of a professional surveyor engaged in the "Practice of Land Surveying" as defined in
R.S. 37:682 for filing and recording submitted by any department, political subdivision, agency,
branch, entity, or instrumentality of Louisiana or of the federal government or of a state
chartered or federally chartered financial institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or the National Credit Union Administration. The filer of such an electronic record
shall certify to the recorder that the written instrument from which the electronic record is taken
conforms to all applicable laws relating to the form and content of instruments which are
submitted in writing.
B. Immediately after acceptance of an electronic record for filing, the recorder shall
endorse such record with the date, hour, and minute it is filed. An electronic filing received on a
legal holiday or at any time other than during the normal business hours of the recorder shall be
accepted for filing on the next business day by the same procedure followed when a paper
document is received in the mail of the recorder at any time other than during normal business
hours.
C. An electronic record shall be effective with respect to a third person from the time of its
filing in the same manner as if the written instrument had been filed, provided the written
instrument from which the electronic record is taken, except for instruments releasing mortgages
and privileges and those instruments filed after July 1, 2006, is filed within ten days of the
electronic filing.
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C. REAL ACTIONS
ACTIONS TO DETERMINE
OWNERSHIP OR POSSESSION
Art. 3651. Petitory action. The petitory action is one brought by a person who claims the
ownership, but who is not in possession, of immovable property or of a real right therein, against
another who is in possession or who claims the ownership thereof adversely, to obtain judgment
recognizing the plaintiff’s ownership.
Art. 3652. Same; parties; venue.
A. A petitory action may be brought by a person who claims the ownership of only an
undivided interest in the immovable property or real right therein, or whose asserted ownership
is limited to a certain period which has not yet expired, or which may be terminated by an event
which has not yet occurred.
B. A lessee or other person who occupies the immovable property or enjoys the real right
therein under an agreement with the person who claims the ownership thereof adversely to the
plaintiff may be joined in the action as a defendant.
C. A petitory action shall be brought in the venue provided by Article 80(A)(1), even when
the plaintiff prays for judgment for the fruits and revenues of the property, or for damages.
Art. 3653. Same; proof of title; immovable. To obtain a judgment recognizing his ownership
of immovable property or real right therein, the plaintiff in a petitory action shall:
(1) Prove that he has acquired ownership from a previous owner or by acquisitive
prescription, if the court finds that the defendant is in possession thereof; or
(2) Prove a better title thereto than the defendant, if the court finds that the latter is not in
possession thereof.
When the titles of the parties are traced to a common author, he is presumed to be the
previous owner.
Art. 3655. Possessory action. The possessory action is one brought by the possessor of
immovable property or of a real right therein to be maintained in his possession of the property
or enjoyment of the right when he has been disturbed, or to be restored to the possession or
enjoyment thereof when he has been evicted.
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Art. 3656. Same; parties; venue.
A. A plaintiff in a possessory action shall be one who possesses for himself. A person
entitled to the use or usufruct of immovable property, and one who owns a real right therein,
possesses for himself. A predial lessee possesses for and in the name of his lessor, and not for
himself.
B. The possessory action shall be brought against the person who caused the disturbance,
and in the venue provided by Article 80(A)(1), even when the plaintiff prays for a judgment for
the fruits and revenues of the property, or for damages.
Art. 3659. Same; disturbance in fact and in law defined. Disturbances of possession which
give rise to the possessory action are of two kinds: disturbance in fact and disturbance in law.
A disturbance in fact is an eviction, or any other physical act which prevents the possessor of
immovable property or of a real right therein from enjoying his possession quietly, or which
throws any obstacle in the way of that enjoyment.
A disturbance in law is the execution, recordation, registry, or continuing existence of record of
any instrument which asserts or implies a right of ownership or to the possession of immovable
property or of a real right therein, or any claim or pretension of ownership or right to the
possession thereof except in an action or proceeding, adversely to the possessor of such property
or right.
Art. 3660. Same; possession. A person is in possession of immovable property or of a real
right therein, within the intendment of the articles of this Chapter, when he has the corporeal
possession thereof, or civil possession thereof preceded by corporeal possession by him or his
ancestors in title, and possesses for himself, whether in good or bad faith, or even as a usurper.
Subject to the provisions of Articles 3656 and 3664, a person who claims the ownership of
immovable property or of a real right therein possesses through his lessee, through another who
occupies the property or enjoys the right under an agreement with him or his lessee, or through a
person who has the use or usufruct thereof to which his right of ownership is subject.
BOUNDARY ACTION
Art. 3691. Boundary action. An action to fix the boundary is an ordinary proceeding.
Art. 3692. Appointment of surveyor by court; duties of surveyor. The court may appoint a
surveyor to inspect the lands and to make plans in accordance with the prevailing standards and
practices of his profession indicating the respective contentions of the parties.
Art. 3693. Evidence; judgment. After considering the evidence, including the testimony and
exhibits of a surveyor or other expert appointed by the court or by a party, the court shall render
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judgment fixing the boundary between the contiguous lands in accordance with the ownership or
possession of the parties.
D. PARTITION BETWEEN CO-OWNERS
GENERAL DISPOSITIONS
Art. 4601. Methods of partition. Partition of property may be made either nonjudicially or
judicially.
Art. 4602. Judicial partition. Partition must be judicial when:
(1) A party is an unrepresented absentee, minor, or mental incompetent; or
(2) All the interested parties cannot agree upon a nonjudicial partition.
PARTITION WHEN CO-OWNER AN ABSENTEE
Art. 4621. Partition by licitation. When one of the co-owners of property sought to be
partitioned is an absentee, the partition may be effected by licitation, as provided in this Chapter,
whether the property is divisible in kind or not.
Art. 4622. Petition. The petition for the partition of property in which an absentee owns an
interest, under the articles of this Chapter, shall allege the facts showing that the absent and
unrepresented defendant is an absentee, as defined in Article 5251, shall describe the property
sought to be partitioned and allege the ownership interests thereof, and shall be supported by an
affidavit of the petitioner or of his counsel that the facts alleged in the petition are true.
CONCURSUS PROCEEDINGS
Art. 4651. Definition. A concursus proceeding is one in which two or more persons having
competing or conflicting claims to money, property, or mortgages or privileges on property are
impleaded and required to assert their respective claims contradictorily against all other parties to
the proceeding.
Art. 4652. Claimants who may be impleaded. Persons having competing or conflicting
claims may be impleaded in a concursus proceeding even though the person against whom the
claims are asserted denies liability in whole or in part to any or all of the claimants, and whether
or not their claims, or the titles on which the claims depend, have a common origin, or are
identical or independent of each other.
No claimant may be impleaded in a concursus proceeding whose claim has been prosecuted to
judgment. No person claiming damages for wrongful death or for physical injuries may be
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impleaded in a concursus proceeding, except by a casualty insurer which admits liability for the
full amount of the insurance coverage, and has deposited this sum into the registry of the court.
III. LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTES
A. FORESTS AND FORESTRY
La. R.S. 3:4278.1. Trees, cutting without consent; co-owners and co-heirs; penalty.
A. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to cut, fell, destroy, remove, or to divert for sale
or use, any trees, or to authorize or direct his agent or employee to cut, fell, destroy, remove, or
to divert for sale or use, any trees, growing or lying on the land of another, without the consent
of, or in accordance with the direction of, the owner or legal possessor, or in accordance with
specific terms of a legal contract or agreement.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any co-owner or co-heir to cut, fell, destroy, remove, or to
divert for sale or use, any trees, or to authorize or direct his agent or employee to cut, fell,
destroy, remove, or to divert for sale or use, any trees, growing or lying on co-owned land,
without the consent of, or in accordance with the direction of, the other co-owners or co-heirs, or
in accordance with specific terms of a legal contract or agreement. The provisions of this
Paragraph shall not apply to the sale of an undivided timber interest pursuant to R.S. 3:4278.2.
B. Whoever willfully and intentionally violates the provisions of Subsection A of this
Section shall be liable to the owner, co-owner, co-heir, or legal possessor of the trees for civil
damages in the amount of three times the fair market value of the trees cut, felled, destroyed,
removed, or diverted, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs.
C. Whoever violates the provisions of Subsection A of this Section in good faith shall be
liable to the owner, co-owner, co-heir, or legal possessor of the trees for three times the fair
market value of the trees cut, felled, destroyed, removed, or diverted, if circumstances prove that
the violator should have been aware that his actions were without the consent or direction of the
owner, co-owner, co-heir, or legal possessor of the trees.
D. If a good faith violator of Subsection A of this Section fails to make payment under the
requirements of this Section within thirty days after notification and demand by the owner, co-
owner, co-heir, or legal possessor, the violator shall also be responsible for the reasonable
attorney fees and costs of the owner, co-owner, co-heir, or legal possessor.
E. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the clearing and maintenance of rights
of way or to utility service situations where a utility is acting in good faith to minimize the
damage or harm occasioned by an act of God. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to
land surveying by or under the direction of a registered professional land surveyor, duly
registered under the laws of the state of Louisiana.
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F. Whoever violates the provisions of Subsection A as they relate to the cutting of standing
cypress trees on water bottoms owned by the state of Louisiana shall, in addition to the penalties
otherwise provided in this Section, be subject to a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars,
imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both.
G. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a civil action pursuant to
provisions of this Section shall be subject to a liberative prescriptive period of five years.
B. THINGS
IMMOVABLES
La. R.S. 9:1101. Ownership of waters and beds of bayous, rivers, streams, lagoons, lakes
and bays. The waters of and in all bayous, rivers, streams, lagoons, lakes and bays, and the beds
thereof, not under the direct ownership of any person on August 12, 1910, are declared to be the
property of the state. There shall never be any charge assessed against any person for the use of
the waters of the state for municipal, industrial, agricultural or domestic purposes.
While acknowledging the absolute supremacy of the United States of America over the
navigation on the navigable waters within the borders of the state, it is hereby declared that the
ownership of the water itself and the beds thereof in the said navigable waters is vested in the
state and that the state has the right to enter into possession of these waters when not interfering
with the control of navigation exercised thereon by the United States of America. This Section
shall not affect the acquisition of property by alluvion or accretion.
All transfers and conveyances or purported transfers and conveyances made by the state of
Louisiana to any levee district of the state of any navigable waters and the beds and bottoms
thereof are hereby rescinded, revoked and canceled.
This Section is not intended to interfere with the acquisition in good faith of any waters or the
beds thereof transferred by the state or its agencies prior to August 12, 1910.
La. R.S. 9:1102. Batture in cities and towns; right of riparian owner. Whenever the riparian
owner of any property in incorporated towns or cities is entitled to the right of accretion, and
more batture has been formed in front of his land than is necessary for public use, which the
corporation withholds from him, he shall have the right to institute action against the corporation
for so much of the batture as may not be necessary for public use. If it be determined by the
court that any portion of the batture be not necessary for public use, it shall decree that the owner
is entitled to the property, and shall compel the corporation to permit him to enjoy the use and
ownership of such portion of it.
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La. R.S. 9:1102.1. Rights of riparian landowners and their lessees.
A. Riparian owners and their lessees of property on navigable rivers, lakes, or streams
within the limits of any deep-water port commission of this state or, in the absence of any such
commission, within a municipality having a population in excess of five thousand inhabitants,
shall have the right to erect and maintain on the batture or banks owned or leased by them and in
the bed of the navigable river, lake, or stream adjacent to or adjoining such batture or banks, such
wharves, buildings, or improvements as may be required for the purposes of commerce,
navigation, or other public purposes. However, where such owners first have obtained the
consent of the governing authority of the deep-water port commission, which consent each deep-
water port commission is hereby authorized to grant, or of the municipality, as the case may be,
to erect such wharves, buildings, or improvements, and same are erected in conformity to plans
and specifications which have been approved by such governing authorities, those governing
authorities may expropriate said wharves, buildings, or improvements whenever said
improvements or the riparian front shall be required for public purposes, and the owners shall be
entitled to claim compensation to the full extent of their loss, but where such consent and
approval is not obtained, the owners shall be entitled to be paid compensation therefor to the full
extent of their loss or required to remove such wharves, buildings, or improvements at their own
expense, in the discretion of the governing authority of the deep-water port commission or of the
municipality. In all cases, such wharves, buildings, or improvements shall remain subject to the
administration and control of the governing authorities with respect to their maintenance and to
the fees and charges to be exacted for their use by the public.
B. Nothing herein shall deprive the levee boards of their authority with respect to levees in
their respective districts or their right to appropriate, without compensation, such wharves,
buildings, or improvements.
La. R.S. 9:1102.2. Rights and duties of riparian owners and their lessees; joint usage of
certain riparian lands.
A. (1)(a) Whenever the governing authority of any port commission, or in the absence of
such commission, the governing authority of a municipality having a population in excess of five
thousand inhabitants, owns, leases, or otherwise lawfully occupies or uses property on a
navigable river, lake, or stream, which is within the territorial limits of such commission or
municipality, or the bed of such river, lake, or stream adjacent to such property, and the
governing authority in its discretion determines that the needs of commerce, navigation, or other
public purposes respecting such property are being satisfied and would not be unduly interfered
with, the governing authority may permit and grant to the riparian owner or owners, or their
lessees or persons occupying with the riparian owner’s consent, the use of such property owned,
leased or otherwise lawfully occupied or used, including the air space above any wharves,
buildings, or improvements constructed by the governing authority, for the construction and
maintenance of buildings or improvements for any purpose, including residential purposes.
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(b) The use and construction of any buildings or improvements on such property by the
riparian owner, or owners, or their lessees or persons occupying with the riparian owner’s
consent, shall be subject to the terms and conditions, including compensation to be paid to the
governing authority, which the governing authority in its discretion determines to be appropriate
under the circumstances.
(c)(i) These terms and conditions may include arrangements whereby any wharves,
buildings, or other improvements made by the governing authority on such property may be
made to connect with or provide structural support to buildings or improvements which the
riparian owner or owners, or their lessees or persons occupying with the riparian owner’s
consent, have been granted permission to erect; or
(ii) They may include arrangements whereby separate structural supports may be provided
for any building or improvements constructed by the riparian owner or owners, or their lessees or
persons occupying with the riparian owner’s consent, in the air space over any wharves,
buildings, or improvements of the governing authority, whether by extending such supports
through the wharves, buildings, or other improvements constructed by the authority, or
otherwise.
(d) Unless expressly provided otherwise by the governing authority in writing, any
buildings or improvements erected by the owner or owners, or their lessees or persons occupying
with the riparian owner’s consent, and any use made thereof, or any activity conducted
thereupon, shall be the separate property of the owner or owners, or their lessees or persons
occupying with the riparian owner’s consent.
(e) Any such buildings or improvements erected by the owner or owners, or their lessees
or persons occupying with the riparian owner’s consent, shall be subject to the administration
and control of the governing authority with respect to their maintenance and, should such
buildings or improvements be used for purposes of commerce, navigation, or other public
purposes, with respect to the fees and charges exacted for their use by the public, and shall also
remain subject to expropriation by any such authority should same become required for public
purposes.
(2)(a) The governing authority of each port commission of the state shall have the right to
lease or sublease any property, whether movable or immovable, that is owned or leased by it, on
a long-term basis and without the necessity of public bidding. Any such lease or sublease may
be for such purpose or purposes and subject to such terms and conditions, including such
compensation to be paid to the governing authority, which the governing authority, in its
discretion determines to be in the public interest.
(b) Without limitation, the right herein granted includes the right to lease or sublease for
purposes of commerce, navigation or other public purposes, any wharves, buildings, or
improvements that are owned or leased by the governing authority that are located on any
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riparian lands that are subject to the servitude existing in favor of the public for purposes of
commerce and navigation.
(3) The provisions of this Subsection shall not be applicable to any river which is part of
the Louisiana Natural and Scenic Rivers Systems as defined in R.S. 56:1841 et seq.
B. Nothing herein shall deprive the levee boards of their authority with respect to levees in
their respective districts or their right to appropriate such wharves, buildings, or improvements.
C. The provisions of this Section shall not be applicable in the parish of St. Tammany.
La. R.S. 9:1107. Public policy respecting ownership of navigable waters and beds thereof.
It has been the public policy of the State of Louisiana at all times since its admission into the
Union that all navigable waters and the beds of same within its boundaries are common or public
things and insusceptible of private ownership; that no act of the Legislature of Louisiana has
been enacted in contravention of said policy, and that the intent of the Legislature of this state at
the time of the enactment of Act No. 62 of the year 1912, now appearing as R.S. 9:5661, and
continuously thereafter was and is at this present time to ratify and confirm only those patents
which conveyed or purported to convey public lands susceptible of private ownership of the
nature and character, the alienation or transfer of which was authorized by law but not patents or
transfers which purported to convey or transfer navigable waters and the beds of same.
La. R.S. 9:1108. Invalidity of patent or transfer purporting to include navigable waters
and beds thereof. Any patent or transfer heretofore or hereafter issued or made is null and void,
so far as same purports to include such navigable waters and the beds thereof, as having been
issued or made in contravention of the public policy of this state and without any prior
authorization by law; provided that the provisions of this Section shall not affect the laws of
accretion or apply to lands that were susceptible to private ownership on the date of the patent or
transfer by the state or a state agency.
La. R.S. 9:1109. Statutes not to be construed as validating purported transfer of navigable
waters or beds thereof. No statute enacted by the legislature of Louisiana shall be construed as
to validate by reason of prescription or peremption any patent or transfer issued by the state of
any levee district thereof, so far as the same purports to include navigable or tide waters or the
beds of same.
C. OWNERSHIP
ACCESSION
La. R.S. 9:1151. Change in ownership of land or water bottoms as result of action of
navigable stream, bay, lake, sea, or arm of the sea; mineral leases. In all cases where a
change occurs in the ownership of land or water bottoms as a result of the action of a navigable
stream, bay, lake, sea, or arm of the sea, in the change of its course, bed, or bottom, or as a result
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of accretion, dereliction, erosion, subsidence, or other condition resulting from the action of a
navigable stream, bay, lake, sea, or arm of the sea, the new owner of such lands or water
bottoms, including the state of Louisiana, shall take the same subject to and encumbered with
any oil, gas, or mineral lease covering and affecting such lands or water bottoms, and subject to
the mineral and royalty rights of the lessors in such lease, their heirs, successors, and assigns; the
right of the lessee or owners of such lease and the right of the mineral and royalty owners
thereunder shall be in no manner abrogated or affected by such change in ownership.
La. R.S. 9:1152. Grant of mineral servitude on lands acquired by the state from agencies
or political subdivisions by subsidence or erosion.
A. With regard to lands previously acquired or which may be acquired hereafter by the
state of Louisiana from an agency or political subdivision of the state due to subsidence or
erosion or other action of a navigable river, stream, bay, or lake or arm of the sea occurring after
the effective date of the Louisiana State Constitution of 1921 and which are not subject to a
mineral lease granted by the state of Louisiana on the effective date hereof, and which are
subject to a mineral lease granted by such agency or political subdivision, or its governmental
predecessor, on the effective date hereof, the state of Louisiana hereby grants to the agency or
political subdivision, or its governmental successor, from which it acquired or may acquire such
lands an imprescriptible and inalienable mineral servitude affecting all minerals underlying the
lands so acquired. Any such servitude shall be treated as having been granted on the date of the
change in ownership of such lands and the agency or political subdivision holding such servitude
is granted the authority to lease or otherwise manage the mineral rights affected thereby in
accordance with law.
B. The boundaries of such servitudes shall be fixed as follows:
(1) The state agency or political subdivision having an interest therein may submit to the
secretary of the Department of Natural Resources a certified map or plat of survey prepared by a
registered land surveyor showing the exact extent of the servitude area, along with such other
proof of the boundaries thereof as the secretary may reasonably require. Upon sufficient
showing of the boundaries of the servitude area, the secretary shall indicate his assent thereto on
said plat and on his certificate evidencing the boundaries of such servitude.
(2) The office of mineral resources of the Department of Natural Resources and the agency
or political subdivision holding such servitude may fix the boundaries of such servitudes or
otherwise fix their respective interest with respect to such servitude by written agreement.
(3) In the event the boundaries cannot be fixed in either manner provided for above, then
the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, the office of mineral resources of the
Department of Natural Resources, or the agency or political subdivision holding such servitude
may institute an action in the parish where the property is located to fix the boundaries of such
servitude in accordance with applicable law.
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(4) A true and certified copy of any certificates, plats, agreements or judgments fixing the
boundaries of such servitudes shall be filed with the secretary of the Department of Natural
Resources and shall be recorded in the parish where the affected property is located.
C. Nothing contained herein shall have the effect of modifying or repealing R.S. 9:1151.
D. PREDIAL SERVITUDES
La. R.S. 9:1251. Passage to or from waters or recreational sites; servitudes or rights of way
or passage not acquired.
A. Any other provisions of the laws of this state to the contrary notwithstanding, whenever
any land owner voluntarily, whether expressly or tacitly, permits passage through or across his
land by certain persons or by the public, solely for the purpose of providing a convenience to
such persons in the ingress and egress to and from waters for boating, or for the purpose of
ingress and egress to and from any recreational site, neither the public nor any person shall
thereby acquire a servitude or right of passage, nor shall such passage become a public road or
street by reason of upkeep, maintenance, or work performed thereon by any governing authority.
B. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to:
(1) prohibit land owners from entering into enforceable contracts specifically granting
servitudes or rights of way or passage;
(2) prohibit land owners from specifically dedicating roads, streets or passages to the
public use;
(3) repeal any laws relative to expropriation or appropriation of land or servitudes or laws
authorizing the legislature or governing authorities to open, lay out or appoint public roads or
streets; nor
(4) repeal any laws creating servitudes along rivers, streams or other waters.
La. R.S. 9:1254. Enclosed estate; right and servitude of passage on certain waterways.
A. The owner of an enclosed estate who has no access to his estate other than by way of an
existing waterway passing through neighboring property shall have a right and servitude of
passage on such waterway. The existing waterway passing through the neighboring property
shall be directly accessible from a publicly navigable waterway, and shall have been and shall
still be capable of use for navigation by the owner of either the dominant or servient estate at the
time of acquisition by act of sale, inheritance, or otherwise, by the owner of the dominant estate.
B. If more than one existing waterway is capable of providing access to the enclosed estate
pursuant to Subsection A, the passage shall generally be taken along the shortest route of safe
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passage from the enclosed estate to the nearest publicly navigable waterway at the location least
injurious to the intervening lands and waterways. The owner of the dominant estate shall not be
required to traverse open waters which may become hazardous for small watercraft during
inclement weather.
C. The provisions of this Section shall supersede any other provision of law to the
contrary.
D. The provisions of this Section are interpretative and are intended to clarify Civil Code
Articles 689, 692, and 705 and any other existing law as to the right and servitude of passage on
waterways to enclosed estates which have no means of access other than by way of water due to
the lack of sufficient land on which to feasibly construct a road, and shall have retroactive
application.
E. OF SUCCESSIONS
La. R.S. 9:1421. Acceptance of succession; benefit of inventory. Notwithstanding any
provision in the law to the contrary, including but not limited to Civil Code Articles 976 through
1013 and Civil Code Articles 1415 through 1466, every successor is presumed and is deemed to
have accepted a succession under benefit of inventory even though the acceptance is
unconditional, and where an inventory or descriptive list has been executed. In such case, every
heir or legatee, whether particular or under universal title, shall not in any manner become
personally liable for any debt or obligation of the decedent or his estate, except to the extent and
value or amount of his inheritance; however, any such heir or legatee may, in the petition for
possession or by a separate instrument in writing, personally obligate himself for any or all of
such debts or obligations.
F. CONVENTIONAL OBLIGATIONS OR CONTRACTS
REGISTRY OF INSTRUMENTS AFFECTING IMMOVABLES
La. R.S. 9:2721. Filing in office of parish recorder.
A. An act of conveyance of immovable property or attachment thereto filed for registry in
the office of the parish recorder shall designate the name of the person responsible for all
property taxes and assessments and include the address where property tax and assessment
notices are to be mailed. The person responsible for the taxes and assessments of the immovable
being transferred shall provide the above information to the tax assessor for the parish in which
the immovable property is located for the purpose of issuing tax and assessment notices.
B. Anyone who acquires immovable property in this state, whether by sale, sheriff’s sale,
giving in payment, or in any other manner, which property is subject to a recorded lease
agreement that is not divested by the acquisition, shall take the property subject to all of the
provisions of the lease, including any provision for the payment of a commission to a leasing
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agent or other third party, provided that the lease was recorded prior to the recordation of the
document which establishes the rights of the person who acquires the property. Such document
shall include but is not limited to a mortgage, option to purchase, or other writing.
La. R.S. 9:2724. Liens or privileges not dependent upon recordation for existence or
priority. This Chapter shall not derogate from or otherwise affect the existence or priority of
any lien or privilege which, under existing law, is not dependent upon recordation for its
existence or priority.
La. R.S. 9:2726. Attachment and recordation of plats; definitions; penalty.
A. Each person obtaining a servitude or right of way across private property where the
servitude or right of way is obtained for the installation of a facility, or facilities, shall attach to
the servitude or right of way agreement a plat, sketch or aerial photograph showing the
approximate location of the servitude or right of way and the instrument and plat, sketch or aerial
photograph shall be recorded in the conveyance records of the parish in which the private
property is situated.
B. "Person" as used in this section shall include natural persons, municipalities and
parishes and other political subdivisions and agencies and departments thereof, and persons,
companies or corporations operating private or public pipelines or private or public utilities.
C. "Facilities" as used in this section include waterways and drainage canals and
underground, surface and overhead pipelines, sewerage lines, utility lines and electric power
lines.
D. This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) public utility servitudes established in a subdivision by the subdivider;
(2) service drop wires.
E. Failure to record the instrument and plat, sketch or aerial photograph herein required
shall render the servitude or right of way agreement ineffective except as between grantor and
grantee, their heirs, successors and assigns.
F. This section shall apply only to a servitude or right of way obtained after August 1,
1970.
La. R.S. 9:2727. Attachment and recordation of plats; expropriations.
A. The state or its political corporations or subdivisions created for the purpose of
exercising any state governmental powers, upon obtaining any immovable property, including
servitudes or other rights in or to immovable property for the purpose of constructing and
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maintaining roads or highways class 1 to 3 as defined by the Louisiana Department of Highways
Minimum Design Standards for Rural Highways and Roads, shall attach to the instrument
evidencing such acquisition a plat of survey showing the location of the acquisition and the
instrument and plat of survey shall be recorded in the conveyance records of the parish in which
the property is situated. Where there is a plat of record, reference to same shall satisfy the
requirements herein.
B. Failure to record the plat of survey herein required shall not render the instrument
evidencing such acquisition ineffective.
C. This Section shall apply only to property obtained after September 12, 1975.
PERFORMANCE OF OBLIGATIONS
La. R.S. 9:2772. Peremptive period for actions involving deficiencies in surveying, design,
supervision, or construction of immovables or improvements thereon.
A. Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, no action, whether ex contractu, ex
delicto, or otherwise, including but not limited to an action for failure to warn, to recover on a
contract, or to recover damages, or otherwise arising out of an engagement of planning,
construction, design, or building immovable or movable property which may include, without
limitation, consultation, planning, designs, drawings, specification, investigation, evaluation,
measuring, or administration related to any building, construction, demolition, or work, shall be
brought against any person performing or furnishing land surveying services, as such term is
defined in R.S. 37:682, including but not limited to those services preparatory to construction, or
against any person performing or furnishing the design, planning, supervision, inspection, or
observation of construction or the construction of immovables, or improvement to immovable
property, including but not limited to a residential building contractor as defined in R.S.
37:2150.1(9):
(1)(a) More than five years after the date of registry in the mortgage office of acceptance
of the work by owner.
(b) If no such acceptance is recorded within six months from the date the owner has
occupied or taken possession of the improvement, in whole or in part, more than five years after
the improvement has been thus occupied by the owner.
(c) If, within ninety days of the expiration of the five-year peremptive period described in
Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, a claim is brought against any person or entity included
within the provisions of this Subsection, then such person or entity shall have ninety days from
the date of service of the main demand or, in the case of a third-party defendant, within ninety
days from service of process of the third party demand, to file a claim for contribution, indemnity
or a third-party claim against any other party.
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(2) If the person performing or furnishing the land surveying services, as such term is
defined in R.S. 37:682, does not render the services preparatory to construction, or if the person
furnishing such services or the design and planning preparatory to construction does not perform
any inspection of the work, more than five years after he has completed the surveying or the
design and planning with regard to actions against that person.
B.(1) The causes which are perempted within the time described above include any action:
(a) For any deficiency in the performing or furnishing of land surveying services, as such
term is defined in R.S. 37:682, including but not limited to those preparatory to construction or
in the design, planning, inspection, or observation of construction, or in the construction of any
improvement to immovable property, including but not limited to any services provided by a
residential building contractor as defined in R.S. 37:2150.1(9).
(b) For damage to property, movable or immovable, arising out of any such deficiency.
(c) For injury to the person or for wrongful death arising out of any such deficiency.
(d) Brought against a person for the action or failure to act of his employees.
(2) Deficiency, as used in this section, includes failure to warn the owner of any dangerous
or hazardous condition, regardless of when knowledge of the danger or hazard is obtained or
should have been obtained.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection A of this Section, this peremptive
period shall extend to every demand, whether brought by direct action or for contribution or
indemnity or by third party practice, and whether brought by the owner or by any other person.
C. If such an injury to the property or to the person or if such a wrongful death occurs
during the fifth year after the date set forth in Subsection A, an action to recover the damages
thereby suffered may be brought within one year after the date of the injury, but in no event more
than six years after the date set forth in Subsection A, even if the wrongful death results
thereafter.
D. Actions for the causes enumerated in Sub-section B of this Section, against the persons
enumerated in Sub-section A of this Section, shall prescribe by the applicable prescriptive
periods established by law for such actions.
E. The peremptive period provided by this Section shall not be asserted by way of defense
by a person in possession or control, as owner, lessor, tenant, or other possessory interest, of
such an improvement at the time any deficiency in such an improvement constitutes the
proximate cause of the injury, damage, or death sued upon with regard to any cause of action
arising out of the alleged delict, quasi delict, or obligation of any such person arising out of his
possession or control of the property.
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F. Nothing in this Section shall be construed as modifying the liability or responsibility
otherwise imposed by law on the owner of an immovable or the possessor, lessor or lessee of an
immovable, by reason of the design, planning, supervision, inspection or observation of
construction, or construction of improvements to immovable property.
G. Causes of action arising from the performing or furnishing of land surveying services,
as such term is defined in R.S. 37:682, if not performed preparatory to construction, which exist
prior to September 11, 1981, shall be perempted one year from said date or by the applicable
peremptive period established by this Section, whichever is later.
H.(1) The peremptive period provided by this Section shall not apply to an action to
recover on a contract or to recover damages against any person enumerated in Subsection A of
this Section, whose fraud has caused the breach of contract or damages sued upon. The
provisions of this Subsection shall be retroactive.
(2) In any action in which fraud is alleged, that issue shall be decided by trial separate
from and prior to the trial of any or all other issues. However, if fraud is alleged in
nonresidential contracts in an action commenced after the expiration of the five-year period
provided by this Section, and the court determines that the allegation was brought in bad faith
and no fraud is found, then the party who made the allegation shall be liable for court costs and
attorney fees. If fraud is proven, then the party that has committed the fraud shall be liable for
court costs and attorney fees.
(3) Fraud, as used in this section, shall have the same meaning as provided in Civil Code
Article 1953.
I. Nothing in this Section shall be construed as limiting or modifying the non-liability of
contractors for destruction or deterioration of, or defects in, any work, as provided in R.S.
9:2771.
G. SALE
CONVENTIONAL SALES
La. R.S. 9:2971. Presumption of grant of all interest; exceptions. It shall be conclusively
presumed that any transfer, conveyance, surface lease, mineral lease, mortgage or any other
contract, or grant affecting land described as fronting on or bounded by, or as described pursuant
to a survey or using a metes and bounds description that shows that it actually fronts on or is
bounded by a waterway, canal, highway, road, street, alley, railroad, or other right-of-way, shall
be held, deemed and construed to include all of grantor’s interest in and under such waterway,
canal, highway, road, street, alley, railroad, or other right-of-way, whatever that interest may be,
in the absence of any express provision therein particularly excluding the same therefrom;
provided, that where the grantor at the time of the transfer or other grant holds as owner the title
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to the fee of the land situated on both sides thereof and makes a transfer or other grant affecting
the land situated on only one side thereof, it shall then be conclusively presumed, in the absence
of any express provision therein particularly excluding the same therefrom, that the transfer or
other such grant thereof shall include the grantor’s interest to the center of such waterway, canal,
highway, road, street, alley, railroad, or other right-of-way; provided further, however, that no
then existing valid right-of-way upon, across or over said property so transferred or conveyed or
so presumed to be conveyed and no warranties with respect thereto shall be in any manner or to
any extent impaired, prejudiced, or otherwise affected by any of the terms and provisions of this
Part or because of the failure of such grantor or transferor to therein make special reference to
such right-of-way or to include or exclude same therefrom.
La. R.S. 9:2981. Presumption of grant of interest in abandoned road. It shall be
conclusively presumed that any transfer, grant, sale or mortgage of land and property abutting or
contiguous to an abandoned road, street or alley, the dedication of which has been revoked, shall
be held, deemed and construed to include all of grantor’s or mortgagor’s interest in and to said
abandoned road, street, or alley, in the absence of any express provision therein particularly
excluding the abandoned property therefrom; provided further, however, that no then existing
valid servitude or rights of third parties in or on the abandoned property shall be in any manner
or to any extent impaired, prejudiced, or otherwise affected by any of the terms and provisions of
this Part.
H. OF PRIVILEGES
PRIVILEGES ON IMMOVABLES
La. R.S. 9:4801. Improvement of immovable by owner; privileges securing the
improvement. The following persons have a privilege on an immovable to secure the following
obligations of the owner arising out of a work on the immovable:
(1) Contractors, for the price of their work.
(2) Laborers or employees of the owner, for the price of work performed at the site of the
immovable.
(3) Sellers, for the price of movables sold to the owner that become component parts of the
immovable, or are consumed at the site of the immovable, or are consumed in machinery or
equipment used at the site of the immovable.
(4) Lessors, for the rent of movables used at the site of the immovable and leased to the
owner by written contract.
(5) Registered or certified surveyors or engineers, or licensed architects, or their
professional subconsultants, employed by the owner, for the price of professional services
rendered in connection with a work that is undertaken by the owner. A "professional
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subconsultant" means a registered or certified surveyor or engineer or licensed architect
employed by the prime professional, as described in this Paragraph. In order for the privilege of
the professional subconsultant to arise, the subconsultant must give notice to the owner within
thirty days after the date that the subconsultant enters into a written contract of employment.
The notice shall include the name and address of the subconsultant, the name and address of his
employer, and the general nature of the work to be performed by the subconsultant.
La. R.S. 9:4802. Improvement of immovable by contractor; claims against the owner and
contractor; privileges securing the improvement.
A. The following persons have a claim against the owner and a claim against the
contractor to secure payment of the following obligations arising out of the performance of work
under the contract:
(1) Subcontractors, for the price of their work.
(2) Laborers or employees of the contractor or a subcontractor, for the price of work
performed at the site of the immovable.
(3) Sellers, for the price of movables sold to the contractor or a subcontractor that become
component parts of the immovable, or are consumed at the site of the immovable, or are
consumed in machinery or equipment used at the site of the immovable.
(4) Lessors, for the rent of movables used at the site of the immovable and leased to the
contractor or a subcontractor by written contract.
(5) Prime consultant registered or certified surveyors or engineers, or licensed architects,
or their professional subconsultants, employed by the contractor or a subcontractor, for the price
of professional services rendered in connection with a work that is undertaken by the contractor
or subcontractor.
(a) A "professional subconsultant" means a registered or certified surveyor or engineer, or
licensed architect employed by the prime consultant.
(b) For the privilege under this Subsection to arise, a prime consultant or professional
subconsultant shall give written notice to the owner within thirty working days after the date that
the prime consultant or professional subconsultant is employed. The notice shall include the
name and address of the prime consultant or professional subconsultant, the name and address of
his employer, and the general nature of the work to be performed by the prime consultant or
professional subconsultant.
B. The claims against the owner shall be secured by a privilege on the immovable on
which the work is performed.
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C. The owner is relieved of the claims against him and the privileges securing them when
the claims arise from the performance of a contract by a general contractor for whom a bond is
given and maintained as required by R.S. 9:4812 and when notice of the contract with the bond
attached is properly and timely filed as required by R.S. 9:4811.
D. Claims against the owner and the contractor granted by this Part are in addition to other
contractual or legal rights the claimants may have for the payment of amounts owed them.
E. A claimant may assert his claim against either the contractor, his surety, or the owner
without the joinder of the others. The claim shall not be subject to a plea of discussion or
division.
F. A contractor shall indemnify the owner for claims against the owner arising from the
work to be performed under the contract. A subcontractor shall indemnify the owner, the
contractor, and any subcontractor from or through whom his rights are derived, for amounts paid
by them for claims under this part arising from work performed by the subcontractor.
G.(1) For the privilege under this Section or R.S. 9:4801(4) to arise, the lessor of the
movables shall deliver notice to the owner and to the contractor not more than ten days after the
movables are first placed at the site of the immovable for use in a work. The notice shall contain
the name and mailing address of the lessor and lessee and a description sufficient to identify the
movable property placed at the site of the immovable for use in a work. The notice shall state
the term of rental and terms of payment and shall be signed by the lessor and lessee.
(2) For the privilege under this Section or R.S. 9:4801(3) to arise, the seller of movables
shall deliver a notice of nonpayment to the owner at least ten days before filing a statement of his
claim and privilege. The notice shall be served by registered or certified mail, return receipt
requested, and shall contain the name and address of the seller of movables, a general description
of the materials provided, a description sufficient to identify the immovable property against
which a lien may be claimed, and a written statement of the seller's lien rights for the total
amount owed, plus interest and recordation fees. The requirements of this Paragraph (G)(2) shall
apply to a seller of movables sold for use or consumption in work on an immovable for
residential purposes.
(3) In addition to the other provisions of this Section, if the seller of movables has not been
paid by the subcontractor and has not sent notice of nonpayment to the general contractor and the
owner, then the seller shall lose his right to file a privilege or lien on the immovable property.
The return receipt indicating that certified mail was properly addressed to the last known
address of the general contractor and the owner and deposited in the U.S. mail on or before
seventy-five days from the last day of the month in which the material was delivered, regardless
of whether the certified mail was actually delivered, refused, or unclaimed satisfies the notice
provision hereof or no later than the statutory lien period, whichever comes first. The provisions
of this Paragraph shall apply only to disputes arising out of recorded contracts.
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La. R.S. 9:4811. Notice of a contract with a general contractor to be filed.
A. Written notice of a contract between a general contractor and an owner shall be filed as
provided in R.S. 9:4831 before the contractor begins work, as defined by R.S. 9:4820, on the
immovable. The notice:
(1) Shall be signed by the owner and contractor.
(2) Shall contain the legal property description of the immovable upon which the work is
to be performed and the name of the project.
(3) Shall identify the parties and give their mailing addresses.
(4) Shall state the price of the work or, if no price is fixed, describe the method by which
the price is to be calculated and give an estimate of it.
(5) Shall state when payment of the price is to be made.
(6) Shall describe in general terms the work to be done.
B. A notice of contract is not improperly filed because of an error in or omission from the
notice in the absence of a showing of actual prejudice by a claimant or other person acquiring
rights in the immovable. An error or omission of the identity of the parties or their mailing
addresses or the improper identification of the immovable shall be prima facie proof of actual
prejudice.
C. A notice of contract is not improperly filed because a proper bond is not attached.
D. A general contractor shall not enjoy the privilege granted by R.S. 9:4801 if the price of
the work stipulated or reasonably estimated in his contract exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars
unless notice of the contract is timely filed.
E. If a notice of contract is mutually released by the owner and contractor, then the
contract will have no effect, provided no work has begun on the land or materials placed on the
site. The recorder of mortgages shall immediately cancel the contract upon the filing of the
mutual release and an affidavit made by a registered or certified engineer or surveyor, licensed
architect, or building inspector employed by the city or parish or by a lending institution
chartered under federal or state law, that states he inspected the immovable at a specified time
subsequent to the filing of the contract and work had not been commenced and no materials
placed at the site. If the contract, or a certified copy, is then refiled, the refiling date shall
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become the effective date for privilege for work done pursuant to the contract in accordance with
R.S. 9:4820(A)(1).
La. R.S. 9:4820. Privileges; effective date.
A. The privileges granted by this Part arise and are effective as to third persons when:
(1) Notice of the contract is filed as required by R.S. 9:4811; or
(2) The work is begun by placing materials at the site of the immovable to be used in the
work or conducting other work at the site of the immovable the effect of which is visible from a
simple inspection and reasonably indicates that the work has begun. For these purposes, services
rendered by a surveyor, architect, or engineer, the driving of test piling, cutting or removal of
trees and debris, placing of fill dirt, demolition of existing structures, or leveling of the land
surface shall not be considered, nor shall the placing of materials having an aggregate price of
less than one hundred dollars on the immovable be considered. For these purposes, the site of
the immovable is defined as the area within the boundaries of the property.
B. If the work is for the addition, modification, or repair of an existing building or other
construction, that part of the work performed before a third person’s rights become effective
shall, for the purposes of R.S. 9:4821, be considered a distinct work from the work performed
after such rights become effective if the cost of the work done, in labor and materials, is less than
one hundred dollars during the thirty-day period immediately preceding the time such third
person’s rights become effective as to third persons.
C. A person acquiring or intending to acquire a mortgage, privilege, or other right, in or on
an immovable may conclusively rely upon an affidavit made by a registered or certified engineer
or surveyor, licensed architect, or building inspector employed by the city or parish or by a
lending institution chartered under federal or state law, that states he inspected the immovable at
a specified time and work had not then been commenced nor materials placed at its site, provided
the affidavit is filed within four business days after the execution of the affidavit, and the
mortgage, privilege, or other document creating the right is filed before or within four business
days of the filing of the affidavit. The correctness of the facts recited in the affidavit may not be
controverted to affect the priority of the rights of the person to whom or for whom it is given,
unless actual fraud by such person is proven. A person who gives a false or fraudulent affidavit
shall be responsible for any loss or damage suffered by any person whose rights are adversely
affected.
D. A person acquiring or intending to acquire a mortgage, privilege, or other right under
Subsection C of this Section shall have priority in accordance with R.S. 9:4821, regardless of
whether work has begun or materials were delivered to the job site after the effective date and time
of the affidavit, but prior to the recordation of the mortgage, privilege, or other right, provided that
the document creating the right was filed before or within four business days of the filing of the
affidavit.
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I. PRESCRIPTION
La. R.S. 9:5607. Actions against a professional engineer, surveyor, professional interior
designer, architect, real estate developer; peremptive periods.
A. No action for damages against any professional engineer, surveyor, engineer intern,
surveyor intern, or licensee as defined in R.S. 37:682, or any professional architect, landscape
architect, architect intern, or agent as defined in R.S. 37:141, or professional interior designer, or
licensee as defined in R.S. 37:3171, or other similar licensee licensed under the laws of this state,
or real estate developer relative to development plans which have been certified by a professional
engineer or professional architect, whether based upon tort, or breach of contract, or otherwise
arising out of an engagement to provide any manner of movable or immovable planning,
construction, design, or building, which may include but is not limited to consultation, planning,
designs, drawings, specifications, investigation, evaluation, measuring, or administration related
to any building, construction, demolition, or work, shall be brought unless filed in a court of
competent jurisdiction and proper venue at the latest within five years from:
(1) The date of registry in the mortgage office of acceptance of the work by owner; or
(2) The date the owner has occupied or taken possession of the improvement, in whole or
in part, if no such acceptance is recorded; or
(3) The date the person furnishing such services has completed the services with regard to
actions against that person, if the person performing or furnishing the services, as described
herein, does not render the services preparatory to construction, or if the person furnishes such
services preparatory to construction but the person furnishing such services does not perform any
inspection of the work.
B. The provisions of this Section shall apply to all persons whether or not infirm or under
disability of any kind and including minors and interdicts.
C. The five-year period of limitation provided for in Subsection A of this Section is a
peremptive period within the meaning of Civil Code Article 3458 and in accordance with Civil
Code Article 3461, may not be renounced, interrupted, or suspended.
D. The provisions of this Section shall take precedence over and supersede the provisions
of R.S. 9:2772 and Civil Code Articles 2762 and 3545.
E. The peremptive period provided in Subsection A of this Section shall not apply in cases
of fraud, as defined in Civil Code Article 1953.
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F. The peremptive periods provided in Subsections A and B of this Section shall not apply
to any proceedings initiated by the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying
Board or the State Board of Architectural Examiners.
J. COURTS AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE
La. R.S. 13:3666. Compensation of expert witnesses; costs of medical reports and copies of
hospital records; land surveyors.
A. Witnesses called to testify in court only to an opinion founded on special study or
experience in any branch of science, or to make scientific or professional examinations, and to
state the results thereof, shall receive additional compensation, to be fixed by the court, with
reference to the value of time employed and the degree of learning or skill required.
B. The court shall determine the amount of the fees of said expert witnesses which are to
be taxed as costs to be paid by the party cast in judgment either:
(1) From the testimony of the expert relative to his time rendered and the cost of his
services adduced upon the trial of the cause, outside the presence of the jury, the court shall
determine the amount thereof and include same.
(2) By rule to show cause brought by the party in whose favor a judgment is rendered
against the party cast in judgment for the purpose of determining the amount of the expert fees to
be paid by the party cast in judgment, which rule upon being made absolute by the trial court
shall form a part of the final judgment in the cause.
C. In either manner provided in Subsection B, the court shall also determine and tax as
costs, to be paid by the party cast in judgment, the reasonable and necessary cost of medical
reports and copies of hospital records.
D. In all civil cases in which the trial court, on its own motion or on motion of a party, has
appointed a person who is registered as a professional land surveyor, pursuant to R.S.
37:693(B)(4), to be called as an expert to assist it in the adjudication of any case in which
professional land surveying skills may aid the court, the court shall make arrangements for the
timely payment of reasonable and customary fees for the services sought to be rendered.
La. R.S. 13:3728. Ancient document; admissible in civil suits. On the trial of any civil case
in any court ancient documents, defined in R.S. 13:3729, shall be received in evidence.
La. R.S. 13:3729. Same; definition. An ancient document is defined to mean any instrument
of writing, including maps, plats and surveys, which has been recorded in the conveyance,
mortgage, donation, miscellaneous or other official records of any parish of the state or in any
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office, bureau, department or agency of the state for a period of thirty years or more at the time
such instrument is offered in evidence.
J. CRIMINAL TRESPASS
La. R.S. 14:63. Criminal trespass.
A. No person shall enter any structure, watercraft, or movable owned by another without
express, legal, or implied authorization.
B.(1) No person shall enter upon immovable property owned by another without express,
legal, or implied authorization.
(2) For purposes of this Subsection, the phrase "enter upon immovable property" as used
in this Subsection, in addition to its common meaning, signification, and connotation, shall
include the operation of an unmanned aircraft system as defined by R.S. 14:337 in the air space
over immovable property owned by another with the intent to conduct surveillance of the
property or of any individual lawfully on the property.
(3) The provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall not apply to any person
operating an unmanned aircraft system in compliance with federal law or Federal Aviation
Administration regulations or authorization.
C.(1) No person shall remain in or upon property, movable or immovable, owned by
another without express, legal, or implied authorization.
(2) For purposes of this Subsection, the phrase "remain in or upon property" as used in this
Subsection, in addition to its common meaning, signification, and connotation, shall include the
operation of an unmanned aircraft system as defined by R.S. 14:337 in the air space over
immovable property owned by another with the intent to conduct surveillance of the property or
of any individual lawfully on the property.
(3) The provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall not apply to any person
operating an unmanned aircraft system in compliance with federal law or Federal Aviation
Administration regulations or authorization.
D. It shall be an affirmative defense to a prosecution for a violation of Subsection A, B, or
C of this Section, that the accused had express, legal, or implied authority to be in the movable or
on the immovable property.
E. The following persons may enter or remain upon the structure, watercraft, movable or
immovable property, of another:
(1) A duly commissioned law enforcement officer in the performance of his duties.
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(2) Any firefighter, whether or not a member of a volunteer or other fire department, and
any employee or agent of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry engaged in
locating and suppressing a fire.
(3) Emergency medical personnel engaged in the rendering of medical assistance to an
individual.
(4) Any federal, state or local government employee, public utility employee or agent
engaged in suppressing or dealing with an emergency that presents an imminent danger to human
safety or health or to the environment.
(5) Any federal, state or local government employee, public utility employee or agent in
the performance of his duties when otherwise authorized by law to enter or remain on
immovable or movable property.
(6) Any person authorized by a court of law to enter or remain on immovable property.
(7) Any person exercising the mere right of passage to an enclosed estate, as otherwise
provided by law.
F. The following persons may enter or remain upon immovable property of another, unless
specifically forbidden to do so by the owner or other person with authority, either orally or in
writing:
(1) A professional land surveyor or his authorized personnel, engaged in the "Practice of
Land Surveying", as defined in R.S. 37:682.
(2) A person, affiliate, employee, agent or contractor of any business which is regulated by
the Louisiana Public Service Commission or by a local franchising authority or the Federal
Communication Commission under the Cable Reregulation Act of 1992 or of a municipal or
public utility, while acting in the course and scope of his employment or agency relating to the
operation, repair, or maintenance of a facility, servitude or any property located on the
immovable property which belongs to such a business.
(3) Any person making a delivery, soliciting, selling any product or service, conducting a
survey or poll, a real estate licensee or other person who has a legitimate reason for making a
delivery, conducting business or communicating with the owner, lessee, custodian or a resident
of the immovable property, and who, immediately upon entry, seeks to make the delivery, to
conduct business or to conduct the communication.
(4) An employee of the owner, lessee or custodian of the immovable property while
performing his duties, functions and responsibilities in the course and scope of his employment.
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(5) The owner of domestic livestock or his employees or agents while in the process of
retrieving his domestic livestock that have escaped from an area fenced to retain such domestic
livestock.
(6) The owner of a domestic animal while in the sole process of merely retrieving his
domestic animal from immovable property and not having a firearm or other weapon on his
person.
(7) Any candidate for political office or any person working on behalf of a candidate for a
political office.
(8) The owner or occupant of a watercraft or vessel traveling in salt water engaged in any
lawful purpose for the purpose of retrieval of his property or for obtaining assistance in an
emergency situation.
G. The following penalties shall be imposed for a violation of this Section:
(1) For the first offense, the fine shall be not less than one hundred dollars and not more
than five hundred dollars, or imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both.
(2) For the second offense, the fine shall be not less than three hundred dollars and not
more than seven hundred fifty dollars, or imprisonment for not more than ninety days, or both.
(3) For the third offense and all subsequent offenses, the fine shall be not less than five
hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisonment for not less than sixty
days and not more than six months, or both, and forfeiture to the law enforcement authority of
any property seized in connection with the violation.
(4) A person may be convicted of a second offense and any subsequent offenses regardless
of whether any prior conviction involved the same structure, watercraft, movable or immovable
property and regardless of the time sequence of the occurrence of the offenses.
(5) In addition to the foregoing penalties, and notwithstanding any other law to the
contrary, a person convicted under this Section who has killed or otherwise misappropriated any
wildlife, as defined by R.S. 56:8, in the course of commission of the offense shall forfeit the
misappropriated wildlife to the law enforcement authority, and shall be ordered to pay the value
of the misappropriated wildlife into the Conservation Fund of the Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries in accordance with R.S. 56:40.1 et seq. The value of the wildlife that was
misappropriated shall be determined by the guidelines adopted by the Wildlife and Fisheries
Commission pursuant to R.S. 56:40.2.
H. The provisions of any other law notwithstanding, owners, lessees, and custodians of
structures, watercraft, movable or immovable property shall not be answerable for damages
sustained by any person who enters upon the structure, watercraft, movable or immovable
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property without express, legal or implied authorization, or who without legal authorization,
remains upon the structure, watercraft, movable or immovable property after being forbidden by
the owner, or other person with authority to do so; however, the owner, lessee or custodian of the
property may be answerable for damages only upon a showing that the damages sustained were
the result of the intentional acts or gross negligence of the owner, lessee or custodian.
I. A minor ten years old or younger shall not be arrested, detained or apprehended for the
crime of trespass.
K. MINERALS, OIL AND GAS
La. R.S. 30:211. Geophysical and geological survey, and public lands defined.
A. "Public lands" means lands belonging to the state or its agencies and which may be
leased under Chapter 2 of this Title.
B. "Geophysical and geological survey" means magnetometer surveys, gravitymeter
surveys, torsion balance surveys, seismograph surveys, using either the reflection or the
refraction method, soil analysis surveys which tend to show the presence or absence of
hydrocarbons, electrical surveys, using either the Eltran or some similar method and any method
utilizing short wave radio.
La. R.S. 30:212. Permits for surveys on public lands.
A. The State Mineral and Energy Board shall have exclusive authority to grant exclusive
and nonexclusive permits to conduct geophysical and geological surveys of any kind on state-
owned lands, including water bottoms. No person shall conduct a geophysical or geological
survey on state-owned lands, including water bottoms, without obtaining a permit. These
permits shall be granted pursuant to rules promulgated under the Administrative Procedure Act
by the Department of Natural Resources. No permit shall be granted covering lands over which
the state has a mere servitude without consent of the owner of the abutting property.
B. Any person desiring a permit to conduct geophysical and geological surveys of any
kind on state-owned lands, including water bottoms, shall submit an application in writing to the
office of mineral resources.
C. Any application that includes prospective areas on lands, including water bottoms,
under the jurisdiction of the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, including wildlife management
areas, wildlife refuges, public shooting grounds, or outdoor recreation areas, may be rejected by
the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for ecological reasons and the rights of
lessors and donors.
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D. After deposit to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as required under the
provisions of Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, the following amounts
shall be deposited as follows:
(1) An amount equal to the amount received from geophysical and geological survey on
lands, including water bottoms, under the jurisdiction of the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission,
including wildlife management areas, wildlife refuges, public shooting grounds, or outdoor
recreation areas, shall be immediately deposited into the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries
Conservation Fund established by Article VII, Section 10-A of the Constitution of Louisiana, or
other funds as may be required by law, deed, or acts of donation.
(2) Of the amount received from nonexclusive geophysical and geological surveys
conducted on all other state-owned lands and water bottoms, twenty percent shall be deposited
into the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Fund and the remainder deposited into
the Mineral and Energy Operation Fund created by R.S. 30:136.3.
(3) Of the amount received from exclusive geophysical and geological surveys conducted
on all other state-owned lands and water bottoms, five dollars per acre shall be deposited into the
Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Fund and the remainder deposited into the
Mineral and Energy Operation Fund created by R.S. 30:136.3.
La. R.S. 30:213. Furnishing state information obtained under permits.
A.(1) For any permit issued prior to July 1, 2004, the holder of a permit to conduct
geophysical and geological surveys shall furnish to the State Mineral and Energy Board or office
of mineral resources maps showing the location of all shot points and detector or geophone
setups located on the property and the dates on which they were used, together with the
subsurface contours obtained as a result of the use of the points. Additionally, the permit holder
shall deliver a copy of any and all seismic data acquired, including 3D, 2D, gravity, magnetic,
and any other geophysical or geological data, in a format acceptable to the office of mineral
resources. This information shall not extend to lands beyond the boundaries of the public
property surveyed. This information shall be furnished to the office of mineral resources or the
State Mineral and Energy Board within ninety days after completion of the final stacked and
migration processing, but not more than six months after the completion of the survey. Except
for the information included in a seismic permit, including the plat showing the geometric
polygon of the area on which the seismic is to be shot, all other information, including maps,
plots, and other data provided to the State Mineral and Energy Board hereunder shall be
confidential and an exception to the provisions of public records laws and shall not be released to
any other agency or entity, or for any reason, including publication in a technical journal, absent
a valid court order from a court of competent jurisdiction or absent written permission of, and
under the strict limitations imposed by, the owner having authority to license said data.
(2) For any permit issued on or after July 1, 2004, the holder of a permit to conduct
geophysical or geological surveys shall retain ownership of the data gathered and shall not be
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required to submit the data as required in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. However, the State
Mineral and Energy Board or the employees of the office of mineral resources shall be allowed
to review the data. Except for the information included in a seismic permit, including the plat
showing the geometric polygon of the area on which the seismic is to be shot, all other
information, including maps, plots, and other data reviewed by the State Mineral and Energy
Board or the staff of the office of mineral resources hereunder shall be confidential and an
exception to the provisions of public records laws and shall not be released to any other agency
or entity, or for any reason, including publication in a technical journal, absent a valid court
order from a court of competent jurisdiction or absent written permission of, and under the strict
limitations imposed by, the owner having authority to license said data.
B. Whoever knowingly and willfully violates the provisions of the Section or any rule or
order of the State Mineral and Energy Board made thereunder shall be fined up to one hundred
thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
La. R.S. 30:214. Permit for survey entailing use of public waters or bottoms. Any person
who makes or causes to be made a geophysical survey entailing the use of shot points in any
lake, river, or stream bed or other bottoms, the title to which is in the public, shall obtain from
the State Mineral and Energy Board a special permit therefor. This permit shall be granted under
the rules and regulations which may from time to time be promulgated by the Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries for the protection of oysters, fish, and wildlife.
La. R.S. 30:215. Nonexclusive geophysical permits.
A. A nonexclusive permit to conduct seismic, geophysical, or geological surveying upon
state-owned lands, including water bottoms, shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance.
However, if operations commence within the year and are ceased due to unforeseen
circumstances, the term may be extended for up to one year from the cessation of operations by
the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources. The permittee shall pay to the office of
mineral resources at the time of application for the seismic permit a fee. Such fee shall be
determined by the State Mineral and Energy Board at least every twelve months or as often as
necessary. The fee shall be based upon market value, but shall be no more than thirty dollars and
no less than five dollars per acre.
B. The secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries may object to an application
for a nonexclusive permit to conduct seismic, geophysical, or geological surveying on lands,
including water bottoms, under the jurisdiction of the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission,
including wildlife management areas, wildlife refuges, public shooting grounds, or outdoor
recreation areas. Upon the secretary's objections, the application shall be presented for final
determination to the State Mineral and Energy Board.
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La. R.S. 30:216. Exclusive geophysical permits.
A. An exclusive geophysical permit entitles the holder to the exclusive right to conduct
geophysical or geological surveys of any kind for the term and area specified in the permit.
B.(1) After receiving an application to conduct exclusive geological or geophysical survey,
the office of mineral resources shall evaluate the prospective area of survey in order to set the
minimum terms which shall then be recommended and presented to the State Mineral and
Energy Board for approval or rejection.
(2) For applications that include lands, including water bottoms, under the jurisdiction of
the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, including wildlife management areas, wildlife refuges,
public shooting grounds, or outdoor recreation areas, the office of mineral resources shall
evaluate the prospective area of survey in order to set the minimum terms which shall then be
recommended and presented to the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for
approval or rejection. If the recommended minimum terms are rejected by the secretary of the
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the office of mineral resources in cooperation and
consultation with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries shall immediately set minimum
terms. If the office of mineral resources and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries are unable
to set minimum terms, the recommendations from both entities shall be presented for final
determination to the State Mineral and Energy Board.
C.(1) Upon setting of the minimum terms, the board may offer by public bid a permit to
conduct geophysical and geological surveys on all or a portion of the lands described in the
application. The board shall publish in the official journal of the state, and in the official journal
of the parish where the lands are located, an advertisement which must appear in these journals
not more than sixty days and no less than thirty days prior to the date for the opening of bids.
The board may publish other such advertisements in its discretion. The advertisement shall
contain a description of the land proposed to be surveyed, the time and place sealed bids shall be
received and publicly opened, a statement that the bid may be for the whole or any particularly
described portion of the land advertised, and any other information that the board may consider
necessary. If the lands are situated in two or more parishes, the advertisement shall appear in the
official journals of all the parishes where the lands may be partly located. The advertisement and
any other published by the board shall constitute judicial advertisement and legal notice within
the provisions of Chapter 5 of Title 43 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
(2) The board may also cause notices to be sent to those whom the board determines would
be interested in submitting bids. Upon the request of the board, the office of mineral resources
shall prepare and mail the notice of publication. A reasonable fee adopted pursuant to the
Administrative Procedure Act to cover the cost of preparing the mailing of the notice of
publication may be charged by the office of mineral resources. On its own motion and after
complying with the policies adopted pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 36:354(A)(2), or at the
request of the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, the board shall advertise for
bids for a permit in the same manner as if an application had been made therefor.
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(3) At the time and place mentioned in the advertisement for the consideration of bids, the
bids shall be publicly opened. Bids received by the mineral board may be opened at any state-
owned buildings situated in the city in which the capitol is located. The mineral board has
authority to accept the bid most advantageous to the state and may grant a permit upon whatever
terms the board considers proper. The board may reject any and all bids or may grant a permit of
a lesser quantity of property than advertised and withdraw the remainder of the property.
(4) If all written bids to survey lands, including water bottoms, under the jurisdiction of the
Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, including wildlife management areas, wildlife refuges,
public shooting grounds, or outdoor recreation areas, are rejected, the State Mineral and Energy
Board, with consultation and cooperation with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, may
immediately offer for competitive bidding a permit upon all or any designated part of the land
advertised, upon terms most advantageous to the state. On all other state-owned lands, including
water bottoms, if all written bids are rejected, the board may immediately offer for competitive
bidding a permit upon all or any designated part of the land advertised, upon terms appearing
most advantageous to the state. These offerings shall be subject to the board's right to reject any
and all bids.
La. R.S. 30:217. Unauthorized geological surveying on lands of another; registration
requirements; penalties.
A.(1) No person shall conduct geological surveys for oil, gas, or other minerals by means
of a torsion balance, seismograph explosions, mechanical device, or any other method
whatsoever, on any land, unless he has obtained the consent of either the owner or the party or
parties authorized to execute geological surveys, leases, or permits as provided in the Louisiana
Mineral Code.
(2) "Owner" as used herein shall not include a person or legal entity with only a surface or
subsurface leasehold interest in the property.
(3) Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor
more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than six
months, or both.
B.(1) Prior to entering onto any property, the person wishing to conduct geological surveys
for oil, gas, or other minerals, by means of a torsion balance, seismograph explosions,
mechanical device, or any other method whatsoever, shall file with the office of the clerk of
court of either parish where such geological surveying is to be conducted, along with the
necessary filing fees, written notification of his intention to conduct such exploration operations,
which shall include the surveyor’s name and address, the parish, and a map clearly designating
the area to be surveyed and the identity of the assessed landowner of such property and the
person or entity granting the permit to survey such property as well as the estimated time period
of such operation.
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(2) Upon receipt of such notification of intention, the clerk of court in each parish shall
maintain copies of same in the regular oil and gas record books. If no oil and gas records are
kept, such intentions shall be filed in the mortgage record books.
(3) A copy of this information, along with a certified copy of the filing, shall be
transmitted by certified mail or hand delivered, by the person wishing to prospect for oil, gas, or
other minerals, to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and to the assessed landowner.
(4) If the geological surveyor is a corporation, partnership or other form of legal entity,
filing shall be in the name of the legal entity, and the names and addresses of the employees shall
not be required.
(5) Whoever violates the filing requirements of this Subsection shall be fined not less than
two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.
La. R.S. 30:221. Aerial photographs or mosaics; filing; copies; penalty. Any person who
takes photographs from the air in this state for the purpose of making aerial maps or mosaics
must file a list of these photographs or mosaics within thirty days after their completion with the
State Department of Conservation. On request of the department a copy shall be furnished on
the same scale as it is offered for sale to the public. The cost of these copies shall be borne by
the department.
This Section does not apply to any federal agency or to any person making aerial photographs or
mosaics for any federal agency.
Whoever violates this Section shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one
thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both.
L. MUNICIPALITIES AND PARISHES
PLANNING COMMISSIONS
La. R.S. 33:108. Procedure of commission; adoption of plan.
A. A commission may adopt a plan as a whole by a single resolution or may by successive
resolutions adopt successive parts of a plan, said parts corresponding with major geographical
sections or divisions of the parish, in the case of a parish planning commission, or of the
municipality, in the case of a municipal planning commission, or with functional subdivisions of
the subject matter of the plan, and may adopt any amendment or extension thereof or addition
thereto.
B. Before the adoption of a plan or any such part, amendment, extension, or addition, a
commission shall hold at least one public hearing thereon. A parish planning commission shall
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give notice of the purpose, time, and place of the public hearing by one publication in a
newspaper of general circulation throughout the parish at least ten days prior to the date set for
the hearing. A municipal planning commission shall give notice of the purpose, time, and place
of the public hearing by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality
at least ten days prior to the date set for the hearing.
C. The adoption of a plan or of any such part or amendment or extension or addition shall
be by resolution of a commission. The resolution shall refer expressly to the maps and
descriptive and other matter intended by a commission to form the whole or part of a plan, and
the action taken shall be recorded on the map and plan and descriptive matter by the identifying
signature of the chairman or secretary of the commission.
D. Certified copies of a summary of the plan or part thereof shall be filed with the division
of administration, with the local legislative body and with the clerk of court of the parish, except
in the parish of Orleans where certified copies of said plan shall be filed with the Commission
Council of the city of New Orleans and recorded with the register of conveyances for the parish
of Orleans.
La. R.S. 33:111. Scope of control of subdivision. Whenever a planning commission has
adopted a major street or road plan of the territory unincorporated, in the case of a parish
planning commission, within its jurisdiction or part thereof and has filed certified copies of such
plan with the local legislative body and with the clerk of court of the parish, it shall be incumbent
upon any individual or corporation prior to filing or recording such plat to first obtain approval
by such planning commission and the approval entered in writing on the plat by the chairman or
secretary of the commission and failure to so do shall constitute the right of the governing
authority wherein said land is located not to accept same as a duly accepted and dedicated
subdivision. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prohibit the respective clerks of
court and recorder of records of the various parishes from recording surveys and/or plats of land
presented to them for recording or filing as a public record.
La. R.S. 33:112. Subdivision regulations.
A. Before exercising the powers referred to in R.S. 33:110, a parish planning commission
shall adopt regulations governing the subdivision of land within unincorporated territory within
its jurisdiction for purposes other than agricultural.
B. Before exercising the powers referred to in R.S. 33:110 a municipal planning
commission shall adopt regulations governing the subdivision of land within its jurisdiction.
C.(1)(a) Within the city of New Orleans, the governing body may enact or may authorize
its appropriate agency to enact, as a part of the municipality’s subdivision control regulations,
requirements that a subdivider of land dedicate such land areas, sites and locations for park,
playground, and public school purposes as are reasonably necessary to service the proposed
subdivision and the future residents thereof, but in no case more than five percent of the gross
area of the proposed subdivision. The regulations may provide that the dedication shall be a
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condition precedent to the approval of any subdivision plat. They shall set forth the standards to
be applied in determining the amount of land that is required to be dedicated. These standards
shall be based upon the number and type of dwelling units or structures to be included in each
subdivision. These standards shall also be based upon studies and surveys conducted by the
municipality through its appropriate agency in order to determine the need, if any, for park,
playground, and public school sites generated by existing subdivisions within the municipality
containing various types of dwelling units or structures.
(b) When the municipality or parish through its appropriate agency adopts regulations
requiring a subdivider to dedicate park, playground, and public school sites, as authorized by this
Subpart, it may also adopt as part of the municipality’s or parish’s regulations governing the
subdivision of land, provisions requiring a subdivider, in lieu of dedicating the sites, to pay to the
municipality or parish, a sum of money or a combination of money and sites equal to the value of
land that would otherwise be required to be dedicated for park, playground, and public school
purposes, whenever the local governmental body through its appropriate agency determines that
it would not be in the public interest to accept the dedication in connection with a particular
proposed subdivision. The provisions shall enumerate the standards to be applied in determining
when it is not in the public interest to accept the dedication and shall provide for the manner of
making payment.
(c) All funds so received shall be held by the municipality or parish or a designated
department or agency thereof, in a special account, and shall be applied and used by the
municipality or parish to acquire park, playground, and public school sites for the benefit of the
residents of the subdivision for which the payment was made. Provisions may be adopted
establishing standards for the application and use of the funds in accordance with the foregoing
limitation. The provisions may also provide that the payment in lieu of dedication shall be a
condition precedent to the approval of any subdivision plat, or may provide that the payment be
deferred or made in installments following approval of a subdivision plat, upon the subdivider’s
posting good and sufficient surety bond guaranteeing the payment. The parish or municipality,
as the case may be, may enforce such bond by all appropriate legal remedies.
(2) Such regulations may provide for the proper arrangement and width of streets in
relation to other existing or planned streets and to the master plan, for adequate and convenient
open spaces for traffic, vehicular parking, utilities, access of firefighting apparatus, recreation,
light and air, and for the avoidance of congestion of population, including minimum width and
area of lots.
D. Such regulations may include provisions as to the extent to which roads, streets, and
other ways shall be graded and improved and to which water and sewer and other utility mains,
piping, or other facilities shall be installed as a condition precedent to the approval of the plat.
The regulations or practice of a commission may provide for a tentative approval of the plat
previous to such installations; but any such tentative approval shall be revocable and shall not be
entered on the plat. In lieu of the completion of such improvements and utilities prior to the final
approval of the plat, a commission may accept a bond with surety to secure to the parish or
municipality, as the case may be, the actual construction and installation of such improvements
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or utilities at a time and according to specifications fixed by or in accordance with the
regulations of the commission. The parish or municipality, as the case may be, may enforce such
bond by all appropriate legal remedies.
E. All such regulations shall be published as provided by law for the publication of
ordinances, and, before adoption, a public hearing shall be held thereon. A parish planning
commission shall give notice of the purpose, time, and place of the hearing by one publication in
a newspaper of general circulation in the parish at least ten days prior to the date set. A
municipal planning commission shall give notice of the purpose, time and place of the hearing by
one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality at least ten days prior to
the date set. Certified copies of such regulations shall be filed by a commission with the local
legislative body and the clerk of court of the parish. Regulations governing the subdivision of
land may be amended from time to time, subject to the requirements governing original adoption
with respect to notice, hearing, and filing with local authorities.
F. Whenever pursuant to R.S. 33:4562-4566 two or more parishes or parts thereof have
been combined by agreement into a single recreation district such that the parish boundaries do
not coincide with the recreation district, the local governing body through its appropriate agency
shall refer the standards required by this subpart to the recreation district commission in which
the proposed subdivision is located. The standards shall not be effective until the recreation
district commission certifies, pursuant to procedures set forth in the interlocal agreement, that
they are the same as those prevailing throughout the jurisdiction of the recreation district. The
foregoing section may be applicable to all federally assisted housing programs whether or not a
subdivision of land would be required.
La. R.S. 33:113. Procedure; legal effect of approval of plat. A planning commission shall
approve or disapprove a plat within sixty days after the submission thereof to it; otherwise such
plat shall be deemed to have been approved, and a certificate to that effect shall be issued by
such commission on demand. The applicant for a commission’s approval may, however, waive
this requirement and consent to an extension of such period. The ground of disapproval of any
plat shall be stated upon the records of such commission. Any plat submitted to such
commission shall contain the name and address of a person to whom notice of a hearing shall be
sent; and no plat shall be acted on by such commission without affording a hearing thereon.
Notice shall be sent to the said address by certified mail of the time and place of such hearing not
less than five days before the date fixed therefor. A planning commission shall give notice of
such hearings, including the purpose, time, and place, by at least one publication in a newspaper
of general circulation in the area surrounding the proposed subdivision, not less than five days
prior to the hearing date; provided, however, that in parishes or municipalities with a population
in excess of one hundred fifty thousand, the public hearing may be waived by the planning
commission or planning authority for subdivisions creating five or less lots not involving the
creation of any new streets, and provided further that the provisions in such waivers shall be
clearly set forth in the official subdivision regulations. Every plat approved by a planning
commission shall, by virtue of such approval, be deemed to be an amendment of or an addition
to or a detail of the official plan and a part thereof. Approval of a plat shall not be deemed to
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constitute or effect an acceptance by the public of any street or other open space shown upon the
plat. A planning commission may, from time to time, recommend to the local legislative body
amendments to the zoning ordinance or map or additions thereto to conform to such
commission’s recommendations for the zoning regulation of the territory comprised within
approved subdivisions.
In the case of a parish planning commission, such requirements or restrictions shall be stated
upon the plat prior to the approval and recording thereof and shall have the same force of law
and be enforceable in the same manner and with the same sanctions and penalties and subject to
the same power of amendment or repeal as though set out as a part of a zoning ordinance or map.
La. R.S. 33:113.1. Administrative procedure.
A. Notwithstanding other provisions of this Subpart or other law to the contrary, the
governing authority may adopt an ordinance establishing administrative procedures for
approving or certifying certain plats involving minor modifications of existing parcels of land.
The categories of such modifications qualifying for such administrative approval or certification
are:
(1) The realignment or shifting of lot boundary lines, including removal, addition,
alignment, or shifting of interior lot boundary lines, or the redesignation of lot numbers provided
the application meets the following requirements:
(a) Does not involve the creation of any new street or other public improvement except as
otherwise provided in this Section.
(b) Does not involve more than two acres of land or ten lots of record.
(c) Does not reduce a lot size below the minimum area or frontage requirements
established by ordinance.
(d) Otherwise meets all the requirements of the subdivision regulations and zoning
ordinances.
(2) Parcels of land where a portion has been expropriated or has been dedicated, sold, or
otherwise transferred to the parish or municipality, thereby leaving a severed portion of the
original property which requires a redesignation of lot number and establishment of new lot
boundary lines.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of this Section, such
administrative procedures may provide for the dedication, acceptance, relocation, or deletion of
public utility servitudes, other than streets, or the deletion of gas, electric, or telephone utility
servitudes acquired by private act or pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 19:1 et seq. on the
property being resubdivided.
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C. All plats approved or certified by an administrative procedure provided for herein shall
designate such fact on the plat and the plats shall be recorded in the conveyance records of the
parish. Any plat so approved shall have the same force and effect and legal status of a
subdivision application approved by the established legislative process.
La. R.S. 33:114. Transfer of lots in unapproved subdivisions.
A. Whoever, being the owner or agent of the owner of any land located within a
subdivision, transfers or sells or agrees to transfer or sell any land by reference to or exhibition of
or by other use of a plat of a subdivision, before such plat has been approved by a planning
commission and recorded or filed in the office of the clerk of court of the parish, shall make the
instrument of transfer subject to compliance with laws, ordinances, and regulations relative to the
development of subdivisions.
B. (1) Whoever, being the owner or agent of the owner of any land located within a
subdivision, transfers or sells or agrees to sell any land by reference to or exhibition of or by
other use of a plat of a subdivision, before such plat has been approved by a planning
commission and recorded or filed in the office of the clerk of court of the parish, without making
the instrument of transfer subject to compliance with laws, ordinances, and regulations relative to
the development of subdivisions, shall pay a penalty of five hundred dollars for each lot or parcel
so transferred or sold or agreed or negotiated to be sold.
(2) The description of such lot or parcel by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer
or other document used in the process of selling or transferring shall not exempt the transaction
from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided.
(3) The parish or municipality, as the case may be, may enjoin such transfer or sale or
agreement by suit for injunction brought in any court of competent jurisdiction or may recover
the penalty by a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction.
La. R.S. 33:115. Improvements in unapproved streets. The parish or municipality, as the
case may be, shall not accept, lay out, open, improve, grade, pave, curb, or light any street, or lay
or authorize water mains or sewers or connections to be laid in any street, within any portion of
territory for which a planning commission has adopted a major street plan, unless the street has
been accepted or opened as or has otherwise received the legal status of a public street prior to
the adoption of such plan, or unless the street corresponds with a street shown on the official
master plan or with a street on a subdivision plat approved by a planning commission or with a
street on a street plat made by and adopted by a commission, copies of which plat have been duly
filed as provided in R.S. 33:108. The local legislative body may, however, accept any street not
shown on or not corresponding with a street on the official master plan or on an approved
subdivision plat or an approved street plat, if the ordinance or other measure accepting such
street is first submitted to the planning commission for its approval and, if approved by the
commission, is enacted or passed by not less than a majority of the entire membership of the
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local legislative body or, if disapproved by the commission, is enacted or passed by not less than
two-thirds of the entire membership of the local legislative body. A street approved by a
planning commission upon submission by the local legislative body, or a street accepted by a
two-thirds vote after disapproval by the planning commission, shall thereupon have the status of
an approved street as fully as though it had been originally shown on the official master plan or
on a subdivision plat approved by the commission or had been originally platted by the
commission.
La. R.S. 33:117. Status of existing platting statutes. When a planning commission has control
over subdivisions as provided in R.S. 33:111, the jurisdiction of the planning commission over
plats shall be exclusive within the territory under its jurisdiction, and all statutory control over
plats or subdivisions of land granted by other laws shall, in so far as in harmony with the
provisions of this Sub-part, be deemed transferred to the planning commission of the parish or
municipality, as the case may be.
TERRITORIAL CHANGES IN PARISHES AND MUNICIPALITIES
La. R.S. 33:151. Petition for annexation of territory. Whenever one-third in number and
value of the bona fide owners of any lots or land, lying contiguous and adjacent to the territorial
corporate limits of any city or town, the city of New Orleans excepted, desire that such lots or
land be annexed to and included in the territorial corporate limits of any such adjacent and
contiguous city or town, so as to constitute a part thereof, or whenever one-fourth in number of
the bona fide owners of any lots or land, lying contiguous and adjacent to the corporate limits of
any city located in the parish of Rapides desire that such lots or land be annexed to and included
in the territorial corporate limits of any such adjacent and contiguous city or town, so as to
constitute a part thereof, they shall present to the mayor and governing body of such city or town
as constituted by law, by whatever name called, a petition in writing signed by them, setting
forth their desire that such lots or land shall be annexed to and included in the territorial
corporate limits of such city or town, so as to constitute a part thereof, and therein also fully
setting forth the boundaries and accurate description of such lots or land which they desire to be
annexed to and included in the territorial corporate limits of such adjacent and contiguous city or
town.
La. R.S. 33:152. Proces verbal and plat of survey. Such petition shall be accompanied with a
proces verbal and plat of survey of such lots or land desired to be annexed to and included in the
territorial corporate limits of such city or town made by the parish surveyor of the parish in
which the city or town is situated. Such survey and proces verbal and plat thereof, to be first
made by such surveyor for such purpose, shall set forth the boundaries and accurate description
of such lots or land desired to be so annexed, and shall be by such surveyor certified to be
correct.
La. R.S. 33:153. Recording proces verbal and plat of survey; ordering election in area to
be annexed. Upon presentation as provided in R.S. 33:151 and 33:152, the petition and proces
verbal and plat of survey shall be recorded and transcribed upon the public record-book wherein
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the ordinances or official proceedings of the municipal authorities are usually recorded, and also
permanently preserved among the official records of the city or town. The municipal authorities
may then order an election to be held by the qualified electors residing in and upon the lots or
land proposed to be annexed to such contiguous and adjacent city or town, submitting the
proposition, to be voted on at such election, whether they desire that such lots or lands shall be
annexed to and included in the territorial corporate limits of such contiguous and adjacent city or
town.
PROPERTY OWNERS
La. R.S. 33:5051. Platting land into squares or lots before sale; filing map of land;
limitations on dedications.
A. Whenever the owner of any real estate desires to lay off the same into squares or lots
with streets or alleys between the squares or lots and with the intention of selling or offering for
sale any of the squares or lots, he shall, before selling any square or lot or any portion of same:
(1) Cause the real estate to be surveyed and platted or subdivided by a licensed land
surveyor into lots or blocks, or both, each designated by number.
(2) Set monuments at all of the corners of every lot and block thereof.
(3) Write the lot designation on the plat or map, and cause it to be made and filed in the
office of the keeper of notarial records of the parish wherein the property is situated and copied
into the conveyance record book of such parish, and a duplicate thereof filed with the assessor of
the parish, a correct map of the real estate so divided.
B. The map referenced in Subsection A of this Section shall contain the following:
(1) The section, township, and range in which such real estate or subdivision thereof lies
according to government survey.
(2) The dimensions of each square in feet, feet and inches, or meters.
(3) The designation of each lot or subdivision of a square and its dimensions in feet, feet
and inches, or meters.
(4) The name of each street and alley and its length and width in feet, feet and inches, or
meters.
(5) The name or number of each square or plat dedicated to public use.
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(6) A certificate of the parish surveyor or any other licensed land surveyor of this state
approving said map and stating that the same is in accordance with the provisions of this Section
and with the laws and ordinances of the parish in which the property is situated.
(7) A formal dedication made by the owner or owners of the property or their duly
authorized agent of all the streets, alleys, and public squares or plats shown on the map to public
use.
C. Formal dedication of property as a road, street, alley, or cul-de-sac shall impose no
responsibility on the political subdivision in which the property is located until:
(1) The dedication is formally and specifically accepted by the political subdivision
through a written certification that the road, street, alley, or cul-de-sac is in compliance with all
standards applicable to construction set forth in ordinances, regulations, and policies of the
political subdivision, which certification may be made directly on the map which contains the
dedication; or
(2) The road, street, alley, or cul-de-sac is maintained by the political subdivision.
La. R.S. 33:5052. Enforcement of requirements. All clerks and ex-officio recorders and
notaries public in all the parishes, the parish of Orleans excepted, shall refuse to place on record
any deeds of sale of property to which R.S. 33:5051 applies until the provisions of R.S. 33:5051
have been complied with. They shall report to the district attorney all violations thereof coming
within their knowledge.
La. R.S. 33:5053. Penalty for violation. Any person, agent, or attorney in fact who violates
R.S. 33:5051 or R.S. 33:5052 shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than five hundred
dollars for each offense.
La. R.S. 33:5054. Plan correcting discrepancy between prior plan and lots sold
thereunder; objections; registration of corrected plan. Whenever land, divided into town lots
and sold in conformity with a plan, is not of the same extent as that mentioned in the plan, and
the difference is more than one thousandth part, the surveyor, commissioned for the parish where
said land is situated, shall apportion, in conformity with the civil code, the surplus or deficit of
the land, and make a plan pointing out, according to the apportionment, the correct dimensions of
each square and the breadth of each street. The plan shall be deposited by the surveyor of the
parish in the office of parish recorder. Public notices shall be given by the surveyor in a
newspaper published in the parish designated as the official journal or in an adjoining parish if
there is none published in the parish, during thirty days, directing all persons interested to present
their opposition to the plan deposited as aforesaid with the parish recorder, which oppositions
shall be referred to and decided by the district court. The plan, when not opposed within the
delay aforesaid, or when modified in the opposition filed, shall be registered by the recorder in
his office, and shall be authentic evidence of the description and dimensions of the property.
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M. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
La. R.S. 37:681-703. Professional Engineering and Professional Surveying. (available
separately) Commonly referred to as the "Licensure Law, this publication, is available
separately. This document is also posted on the Board’s website at http://www.lapels.com.
La. R.S. 37:1736. Immunity from liability for architects, engineers, and land surveyors.
A. As used in this Section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Architect" means a person registered and licensed pursuant to the provisions of R.S.
37:141 et seq.
(2) "Building inspection official" means any federal, state, or local official with overall
executive responsibility to coordinate building inspection in the jurisdiction in which the
emergency or event has occurred.
(3) "Law enforcement official" means any federal, state, or local official with overall
executive responsibility to coordinate law enforcement in the jurisdiction in which the
emergency or event has occurred.
(4) "Professional engineer" means a person licensed under the provisions of Chapter 8 of
this Title, as defined in R.S. 37:682.
(5) "Professional land surveyor" means a person licensed under the provisions of Chapter
8 of this Title, as defined in R.S. 37:682.
(6) "Public official" means any federal, state, or local official with overall executive
responsibility in the jurisdiction in which the emergency or event has occurred.
(7) "Public safety official" means any federal, state, or local official with overall executive
responsibility to coordinate public safety in the jurisdiction in which the emergency or event has
occurred.
B. An architect, a professional engineer, or professional land surveyor who voluntarily,
without compensation, provides architectural, structural, electrical, mechanical or other
engineering services, or land surveying services related to a declared federal, state, or local
emergency caused by a major earthquake, hurricane, tornado, fire, explosion, collapse, flood, or
other similar disaster or catastrophic event at the request of or with the approval of a federal,
state, or local public official, law enforcement official, public safety official, or building
inspection official acting in an official capacity, shall not be liable for any personal injury,
wrongful death, property damage, or other loss related to the architect's, professional engineer's,
or professional land surveyor's acts, errors, or omissions in the performance of any architectural,
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engineering, or land surveying services for any structure, building, piping, or other engineered
system, either publicly or privately owned.
C. The immunity provided in this Section shall apply only to voluntary architectural,
engineering, or land surveying services that occur during the emergency.
D. Nothing in this Section shall provide immunity for gross negligence for wanton, willful,
or intentional misconduct.
La. R.S. 37:2950. Criminal record effect on trade, occupational, and professional licensing.
A. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, a person shall not be
disqualified, or held ineligible to practice or engage in any trade, occupation, or profession for
which a license, permit or certificate is required to be issued by the state of Louisiana or any of
its agencies or political subdivisions, solely because of a prior criminal record, except in cases in
which a conviction directly relates to the position of employment sought, or to the specific
occupation, trade or profession for which the license, permit or certificate is sought.
B. Any decision which prohibits an applicant from engaging in the occupation, trade or
profession for which the license, permit or certificate is sought, which is based in whole or in
part on conviction of any crime, as described in Subsection A, shall explicitly state in writing the
reasons for the decision.
C. Any complaints concerning violations of this Section shall be adjudicated in accordance
with procedures set forth for administrative and judicial review, contained in Title 49 of the
Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
D.(1)(a) This Section shall not be applicable to:
(i) Any law enforcement agency.
(ii) The Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.
(iii) The Louisiana State Board of Dentistry.
(iv) The Louisiana State Board of Nursing.
(v) The Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners.
(vi) The State Racing Commission.
(vii) The State Athletic Commission.
(viii) The Louisiana State Board of Pharmacy.
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(ix) The Louisiana State Bar Association.
(x) The Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board.
(xi) The Louisiana State Board of Architectural Examiners.
(xii) The Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners.
(xiii) The Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.
(xiv) The Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
(xv) The Office of Financial Institutions.
(xvi) The Louisiana Physical Therapy Board.
(xvii) The Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy.
(xviii) The Louisiana Department of Insurance.
(b) Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude the agency, in its discretion, from
adopting the policy set forth in this Section.
(2) This Section shall not be applicable to the office of alcohol and tobacco control of the
Department of Revenue.
La. R.S. 37:2951. Default on repayment of certain student loans, grounds for denying
trade, occupation, or profession license; conditional issuance; procedures.
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, default on the repayment of
any loan guaranteed by the Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission, hereinafter
referred to as the special commission, shall be grounds for denying an application for, or an
application for the renewal of, any license, permit, or certificate required by the state of
Louisiana, or for the granting of a conditional license, permit, or certificate required by the state
of Louisiana, or any of its departments, offices, agencies, and boards in order to practice or
engage in a trade, occupation, or profession. Such shall be denied or issued conditionally
pending the applicant's compliance with the repayment requirements of the loan, as determined
and reported by the special commission.
B. Within ten days after receiving a completed application, a certifying or licensing agency
or board shall notify the special commission of the applicant's name and social security number.
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C. Any determinations made under the provisions of this Section shall be guided by the
facts and recommendations provided by the special commission as well as by the findings of any
administrative hearings or reviews that may be convened to assist in making the determination.
D. Each certifying or licensing agency or board shall notify the special commission of its
final action on any application reported to be in default by the special commission.
E. As provided by this Section and in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the
special commission pursuant to R.S. 17:3023(A)(8), each certifying or licensing agency or board
which grants a license, permit, or certificate required by the state of Louisiana in order to
practice or engage in a trade, occupation, or profession is hereby expressly authorized to issue a
conditional license, permit, or certificate to an applicant or renewal applicant who is in default on
the repayment of any loan guaranteed by the special commission.
La. R.S. 37:2952. Failure to pay child support; effect on trade, occupation, and
professional licensing.
A. Regardless of requirements for the issuance or renewal of a trade, occupational, or
professional license or grounds for suspension or revocation thereof, all trade, occupational, or
professional licensees are subject to the provisions of R.S. 9:315.30 et seq., suspension of license
for nonpayment of child support.
B. The legislature recognizes the judicial power vested in the state supreme court pursuant
to Article V, Section 1 of the Constitution of Louisiana and, accordingly, urges and requests the
supreme court to adopt rules and regulations effecting the suspension of licenses to practice law
consistent with the provisions of R.S. 9:315.30 et seq. In cases wherein the obligor is an attorney
licensed to practice law in this state, a judgment or order indicating noncompliance with an order
of support shall be mailed to the state supreme court and the Louisiana State Bar Association.
N. PUBLIC LANDS
STATE LANDS
La. R.S. 41:14. Conveyances of waterbottoms, ownership. No grant, sale or conveyance of
the lands forming the bottoms of rivers, streams, bayous, lagoons, lakes, bays, sounds, and inlets
bordering on or connecting with the Gulf of Mexico within the territory or jurisdiction of the
state shall be made by the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources or by any other
official or by any subordinate political subdivision, except pursuant to R.S. 41:1701 through
1714. Any rights accorded by law to the owners or occupants of lands on the shores of any
waters described herein shall not extend beyond the ordinary low water mark. No one shall own
in fee simple any bottoms of lands covering the bottoms of waters described in this Section.
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SURVEYS AND RECORDS OF PUBLIC LANDS
La. R.S. 41:51. Surveys and plats. The governor may direct the department of public works:
(1) To make, from time to time, surveys of all unsurveyed lands belonging and that may
hereafter belong to this state and to subdivide them into townships, sections and other proper
subdivisions that may be necessary for their identification, description, entry and sale. In the
event the department of public works cannot timely cause a requested survey to be made, then
the register may on his own initiative cause a survey or surveys to be made of state lands which
survey shall be subject to approval by the director of the department of public works. The cost
of such a survey shall be borne by the register of the state land office.
(2) To prepare duly certified maps and plats of the lands and to file them in the state land
office as soon as completed.
La. R.S. 41:52. Records transferred to this state by the former office of the United States
Surveyor General of the District of Louisiana. The maps, books, records, field notes and
documents appertaining to land title in this state which were transferred to this state by the
former office of the United States Surveyor General of the District of Louisiana and accepted by
this state by Act No. 6 of 1910 and Act No. 183 of 1928, are public records and are a part of the
permanent archives of the state land office.
SCHOOL LANDS
La. R.S. 41:631. Sale of land to school board for public school educational purposes. The
Register of the State Land Office may sell, at the price stipulated by law, to any school board of
this state any amount of land not less than five acres on which to erect a school house. The land
must be within the school district and a portion of that land donated by Congress to this state
either for the use of a seminary of learning or for the purpose of internal improvement.
The Register of the State Land Office also shall sell to any school board of the state, for public
educational purposes, any tract of not less than five acres, of sixteenth section lands donated by
Congress to this state for school purposes, provided such land is located within the parish
wherein such school board exists and provided that such land has not been otherwise disposed of
or alienated by the state. The only procedure which shall be required for the sale of such
sixteenth section lands and the issuance of patent thereto by the Register of the State Land Office
to the school board and its successors pursuant to this section shall be the delivery by the school
board to the Register of its application for purchase of such land, a survey thereof by the parish
surveyor or engineer, a duly authenticated copy of a resolution duly adopted by such school
board authorizing such purchase and agreeing to utilize such lands for public educational
purposes, and a tender of the purchase price. The price of such lands sold to school boards
pursuant to this Section is hereby fixed at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. The
Register of the State Land Office shall transmit to the State Treasurer any monies received from
the sale of such lands pursuant to this Section, and the State Treasurer shall credit such funds to
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the township wherein the land is situated making such disposition of the funds as is provided by
law. The Register of the State Land Office shall notify the state auditor and the state
superintendent of education of the result of all such sales.
None of the provisions of this Section shall be applicable to school indemnity lands, nor to the
leases of any public lands, nor to timber sales covering sixteenth sections, all of which are dealt
with under other provisions of existing law; provided, however, that in the case of sales to school
boards of sixteenth section lands or any portions thereof pursuant to this Section, the timber
located on such land shall be included in the sale to the school board if it has not been previously
alienated or disposed of according to law. None of the provisions of this Section shall be
applicable to oil and gas or other minerals upon sixteenth section lands, which shall be dealt with
under other provisions of existing law.
In the event any sixteenth section land purchased by a school board under this Section should no
longer be used for the purpose of a school site, such school board is prohibited from selling said
land to any third person or persons, but such land shall be re-conveyed to the state of Louisiana
by such school board to be used for the purposes as are now provided by law.
La. R.S. 41:713. Resurvey of obliterated or uncertain lines. Before selling the school lands
belonging to the state, the parish treasurer, or other persons whose duty it may become, to
superintend the sales, shall cause a resurvey of the lines which from any cause may have become
obliterated or uncertain; and for this purpose he may employ the parish surveyor, or on his
default, any competent surveyor. The lines thus surveyed shall be marked in such manner as to
enable those interested to make a thorough examination before sale, and all advertisements made
for the sale of the lands shall contain a full description thereof, according to the original survey
and that required by this Section. The expenses of making the survey shall be paid by the State
Auditor out of the proceeds of the sale of the lands on the warrant of the parish treasurer.
DETERMINATION OF BOUNDARIES
La. R.S. 41:1131. Fixing of boundaries by mutual consent. Whenever there arises a
controversy with respect to the boundary line between lands belonging to the state and
contiguous and abutting lands belonging to another person, or boundary lines which have never
been definitely ascertained, defined or fixed, the state and the party may proceed to the
ascertainment, determination and fixing of the boundary by mutual consent, as set forth in this
Chapter.
La. R.S. 41:1132. Formal agreement to be made. Whenever a settlement is amicably arrived
at between the owner of the contiguous and abutting land, and the register of the state land office
and is approved by the attorney general, the governor may enter into a contract with the owner in
keeping with the proces verbal of the agreement of settlement, which shall be supplied by the
owner and the Register of the State Land Office. The agreement shall be executed and signed, in
quadruplicate and in notarial form, by the governor, and by the owner, one copy to be filed with
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the Department of Public Works, one with the Register of the State Land Office, one copy to be
recorded in the parish in which the land is situated, and one copy to be retained by the owner.
La. R.S. 41:1136. Official determination of boundary. The agreement entered into under the
provisions of R.S. 41:1132 or the proces verbal of the findings of the commission under the
provisions of R.S. 41:1133, shall constitute the official survey or boundary between the
properties in question, and copies thereof, certified to by the clerk of court from the records of
his office, or by the Register of the State Land Office from the records of his office, shall be
admissible in evidence in any of the courts of this state, and shall be conclusive evidence of the
correctness of the boundaries, and the finality of the issue, unless the agreement or commission’s
findings be set aside in a direct action, on the ground of fraud or gross error. If a party owning
the abutting or contiguous lands desires to implead the state in a suit having in view the
conversion of the decree of the commission into a judgment of the court, then service on the
attorney general shall be deemed service on the State of Louisiana, and authority is herein and
hereby given to so implead the state in all suits having in view the conversion of the decree of
the commission into a judgment of the court.
ROADS AND RIGHTS OF WAY
La. R.S. 41:1171. Roads established by parochial authorities over state lands. All public
roads heretofore traced out and established by the parochial authorities of the respective parishes
over lands belonging to the state are recognized as such, and the parochial authorities of all the
parishes of the state may establish public roads not exceeding one hundred feet in width on the
public lands of this state.
O. PUBLIC RECORDS
La. R.S. 44:41. Receiving and filing map, plat, etc. for record.
A. After September 1, 1970, no clerk of court, recorder of mortgages or register of
conveyances, or any other public authority shall receive and file for record any map, plat, or
survey attached to and pertaining to the sale or mortgage of property, when such map, plat, or
survey is required by either party, which does not have impressed thereon, and affixed thereto,
the signature and seal of a professional land surveyor duly licensed in accordance with the
provisions of Chapter 8 of Title 37 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 by whom or under
whose responsible charge said map, plat, survey, or other document was prepared.
B. Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall not invalidate any title to real
property otherwise legally valid.
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P. RECORDERS AND RECORDATION
La. R.S. 44:115. Photographic reproduction of acts.
The recorder, at his option and in his discretion, may record acts by means of photorecording,
photocopying, microfilming, or other photographic methods of reproduction. The film stock
used in making photographic or microphotographic copies and the processing of the copies shall
comply with the standards of the American National Standard Institute for permanent record
photographic microcopying film. The clerk of court in East Baton Rouge Parish will make
available to the assessor a copy of the original document files under provision of the
aforementioned sections, excluding holidays within forty-eight hours. The recorder shall
preserve and maintain original maps, plats, property descriptions or photographs as related to the
work of a professional surveyor engaged in the practice of land surveying as defined in R.S.
37:682(13).
La. R.S. 44:116. Photostatic, photographic, microfilm, or other photographic or electronic
copies of records; indexes of conveyance and mortgage records; disposition; evidentiary
status; preservation.
A. In all cases where the clerks of court and recorders of the various parishes throughout
the state, Orleans Parish excepted, are required by law to make records of filings, documents,
pleadings, and all other written instruments, except indexes, and registers of the same, such
records may be made by any method of photorecording, photocopying, microfilming, or other
photographic method of reproduction or electronically on non-rewritable magnetic, optical, or
laser type storage media, including but not limited to CD-ROM. However, the film stock used in
making photographic or microphotographic copies and the processing of the copies shall comply
with the standards of the American National Standard Institute for permanent record
photographic microcopying film and the electronic media used shall comply with the standards
of the International Standards Organization for electronic storage of records.
B. Whenever recordation by means of photorecording, photocopying, microfilming, or
other photographic method of reproduction is used or when electronic recordation on non-
rewritable magnetic, optical, or laser type storage media is used, any requirement expressed or
implied in law for the above-mentioned records, other than indexes and registers of the same, to
be maintained in a book or bound volume shall be satisfied by the appropriate storage unit of
microfilm or other photographic method employed, or tape or disk; however, the originals of
conveyances, probate, mortgage, and other permanent records required by existing law to be kept
for all time shall continue to be maintained in a book or bound volume and shall remain subject
to examination and copying under the provisions of R.S. 44:31 et seq., and other applicable laws.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsections A and B of this Section or any other
provision of law to the contrary, clerks of court and recorders may make indexes of conveyance
and mortgage records by any method of photorecording, photocopying, microfilming, or other
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photographic method of reproduction or electronically on non-rewritable magnetic, optical, or
laser type storage media, including but not limited to CD-ROM; however, the standards
described in Subsection A of this Section shall apply.
D. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection B of this Section or any other provision
of law to the contrary, for any record filed on or after January 1, 2005, with the exception of
records of a graphic nature including but not limited to plats, maps and photographs as related to
the work of a Professional Land Surveyor engaged in the "Practice of Land Surveying", as
defined in R.S. 37:682, a clerk of court may reproduce the record as provided in this Section and
may thereafter return the original record to the person presenting it.
E.(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection B of this Section or any other
provision of law to the contrary, a clerk of court shall not be required to maintain an original
record filed on or prior to December 31, 2004, provided that:
(a) The record has been preserved using one of the methods contained in this Section.
(b) The original of the record has been transferred to the state archivist pursuant to the
provisions of R.S. 44:406 or R.S. 44:427.
(c) The original of the record is not of a graphic nature including but not limited to plats,
maps and photographs as related to the work of a Professional Land Surveyor engaged in the
"Practice of Land Surveying", as defined in R.S. 37:682.
(2) A clerk of court may destroy any record provided for in this Subsection or return it to
the person who presented it for recordation after the clerk receives certification from the state
archivist that the records are not subject to R.S. 44:406 or R.S. 44:427 and after the clerk has
preserved the record as provided for in this Section. No cause of action for any claim shall exist
against a clerk of court for any damage or loss resulting from the return or destruction of an
original record after receipt of the certification and proper preservation of the record.
(3) The Department of State shall not make or authenticate a copy or reproduction of any
original record it receives from a clerk of court pursuant to R.S. 44:406. Upon receipt of any
request for service or any inquiry relating to such a record, it shall forward the request or inquiry
to the appropriate clerk of court who shall render the necessary service and charge the
appropriate fee, as provided for by R.S. 13:841 or R.S. 13:844.
F. When a clerk of court certifies that a copy of a record preserved by him using a method
provided for in this Section is true and correct, the certified copy of the record shall be received
in evidence, if relevant, by any court or administrative agency as prima facie proof of its
contents.
G. All rules adopted by the Department of State relative to retention and storage of records
of public bodies shall apply to all records provided for in Subsections D and E of this Section. In
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addition, each clerk of court shall maintain a locally available backup copy of any record
destroyed pursuant to Subsection E of this Section.
H. For purposes of Subsections D, E, F, and G of this Section the term "clerk of court"
shall mean any parish clerk of court, and the register of conveyances, recorder of mortgages, and
custodian of notarial records in the parish of Orleans.
Q. PARISH AND LOCAL ROADS
La. R.S. 48:481. Powers of parish governing authorities as to roads, bridges, and ditches;
penalties. Parish governing authorities may pass all ordinances which they think necessary
relative to roads, bridges, and ditches, and may impose such penalties to enforce them as they
think proper.
La. R.S. 48:483. Draining of public roads. Parish governing authorities may drain the public
roads of their respective parishes by cutting ditches and canals where necessary through private
property. The ditches and drains shall be of sufficient size to drain both the public road and the
lands over which they are opened. They shall be located where least injurious to the owner of
the property.
La. R.S. 48:484. Employment of engineers. The governing authority of any parish may
employ an engineer to design blacktop, concrete or other hard surfaced roads, highways, bridges
and tunnels in the parish to be constructed with funds from the royalty road fund whenever the
department of highways is unable to assign engineers for the purpose; provided that the design
must be approved by the state department of highways.
La. R.S. 48:491. Public roads.
A. All roads or streets in this state that are opened, laid out, or appointed by virtue of any
act of the legislature or by virtue of an order of any parish governing authority in any parish, or
any municipal governing authority in any municipality shall be public roads or streets, as the
case may be.
B.(1)(a) All roads and streets in this state which have been or hereafter are kept up,
maintained, or worked for a period of three years by the authority of a parish governing authority
within its parish, or by the authority of a municipal governing authority within its municipality,
shall be public roads or streets, as the case may be, if there is actual or constructive knowledge of
such work by adjoining landowners exercising reasonable concern over their property.
(b) Actual or constructive knowledge is presumed if prior to or during the work the public
body notifies the last known adjoining landowners of same by written notice by certified or
registered mail, return receipt requested. When such notice is given more than two years and ten
months from commencement of such work, it shall suspend the foregoing prescription for sixty
days.
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(c) Actual or constructive knowledge is conclusively presumed within all parishes and
municipalities, except as otherwise provided by R.S. 48:491(B)(3), if the total period of such
maintenance is four years or more, unless prior thereto and within sixty days of such actual or
constructive knowledge, the prescription is interrupted or suspended in any manner provided by
law.
(2) When a local governing authority for any reason decides to dispose of any road, street,
or property used for right-of-way purposes which was originally donated to the authority of its
ancestor in title, the property shall revert to the original donor or his heirs or assigns. The
authority shall notify the donor or his heirs of its intention to donate the property by sending
written notice via certified mail, return receipt requested, to the donor or his heirs at his last
known address. The notice shall inform the donor or his heirs or his assigns of the authority’s
intention to have the land revert and provide him ninety days from receipt in which to respond.
If, upon the expiration of the ninety-day period, no response has been received by the authority,
it shall dispose of the property in accordance with applicable law. In the donation deed from the
authority to the donor or his heirs or his assigns, the authority shall reserve rights of passage for
landowners who own property contiguous to the property to be reverted.
C. All roads or streets made on the front of their respective tracts of lands by individuals
when the lands have their front on any of the rivers or bayous within this state shall be public
roads when located outside of municipalities and shall be public streets when located inside of
municipalities.
D. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, any road or street used by
the public is a public road or street provided it is designated as such by the local governing
authority, and it shall be within the discretion of the local governing authority to maintain the
road up to a private drive; however, no road or street on private property shall be designated as a
public road unless ownership is transferred or the right of way is given to the local governing
authority.
La. R.S. 48:511. Changing public road; penalty.
A. No person shall turn, alter, or change any public road as defined in R.S. 48:491 and
being a parish or municipal road, except upon order of the governing authority of the parish for a
parish road, whether or not within a municipality, or upon order of the governing authority of the
municipality for a municipal road.
B. Whoever violates this Section shall be fined one hundred dollars for each month the
road is altered or turned out of its old course.
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La. R.S. 48:512. Prohibition against closing, obstructing, or changing legal roads;
restoring to former condition; exceptions.
A. No person shall close, obstruct, or change any legal road, public road, or street, as
defined in R.S. 48:491 and being a parish or municipal road, except upon order of the governing
authority of the parish for a parish road, whether or not within a municipality, or upon order of
the governing authority of the municipality for a municipal road, except as hereinafter provided.
B. If any public road or street is closed, obstructed, or changed in violation of the
provisions of this Section, the governing authority of the parish or the governing authority of the
municipality shall summarily open the road, remove all obstructions therefrom, and restore it to
its former condition, at the expense of the person who closed, obstructed, or changed the public
road or street.
C. The governing authority of Orleans Parish may authorize a person to close, obstruct, or
change a public road or street for a period not to exceed twelve consecutive months, provided
that the governing authority determines that it is for a public purpose and in the best interests and
for the benefit of the parish or municipality, provided further that such closing shall occur only
after consultation with and approval by the secretary of the department, provided further that all
obstructions be removed therefrom and the public roads or streets be restored for use by the
general public at the sole expense of the person authorized to close, obstruct, or change a public
road or street, and provided further that the removal of obstructions and the restoration of the
public roads or streets be completed within the period authorized by the governing authority,
which period shall not exceed twelve months.
La. R.S. 48:671. Model roads through municipalities. Whenever necessary, parish governing
authorities may construct good roads in whole or in part of the type commonly known as model
roads through the corporate limits of municipalities to form a connection through the
municipalities between the ends or terminals of good roads already constructed by the parish
governing authorities to the limits of the municipalities.
La. R.S. 48:701. Revocation of dedication; reversion of property.1 The parish governing
authorities and municipal corporations of the state, except the parish of Orleans, may revoke and
set aside the dedication of all roads, streets, and alleyways laid out and dedicated to public use
within the respective limits, when the roads, streets, and alleyways have been abandoned or are
no longer needed for public purposes.
Upon such revocation, all of the soil covered by and embraced in the roads, streets, or alleyways
up to the center line thereof, shall revert to the then present owner or owners of the land
contiguous thereto.
1 See La. R.S. 48:719 (below), which declares this part superseded with respect to (a) parishes of more than
325,000 persons, except the parishes of Orleans and St. Tammany and the city of Slidell and (b) cities of more than
215,000 persons which are located within a parish of more than 375,000 persons.
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Nothing in this Section shall be construed as repealing any of the provisions of special statutes or
charters of incorporated municipalities granting the right to close or alter roads or streets.
La. R.S. 48:701.2. Webster Parish; revocation of dedication; reversion of property.
A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the governing authority of
Webster Parish or of its municipalities may revoke and set aside the dedication of any road,
street, or alleyway laid out and dedicated to public use within the respective limits, when the
road, street, or alleyway has been abandoned or is no longer needed for public purposes.
B. Upon such revocation, the property subject to the dedication shall revert to the original
property owner who was the owner of record of the property when the property subject to the
dedication was first dedicated to public use, or his successors or assigns.
C. Nothing in this Section shall be construed as repealing any of the provisions of special
statutes or charters of incorporated municipalities granting the right to close or alter roads or
streets.
D. This Section shall not apply to a revocation and setting aside of a dedication of any
road, street, or alleyway by the governing authority of Webster Parish or of its municipalities on
and after July 1, 1999. Thereafter, the provisions of R.S. 48:701 shall be applicable in Webster
Parish to any revocation of dedication of land by the governing authority of the parish of
Webster or any of its municipalities and to any reversion of property.
La. R.S. 48:702. Abandoning certain roads and exchanging property with other property
owners. Whenever the governing authorities of any parish or municipal corporation of this state
desire to construct a road, street or alley leading to any property of the state or any of its
subdivisions, boards, commissions, or political corporations, and it appears that the construction
will make it unnecessary to the public welfare to continue any then existing road, street or alley
or any part thereof to permit access to or from the public property or to or from any property
served by the old road, the parish or municipal corporation governing authority may, by proper
ordinance, revoke and set aside the dedication of the road, street or alley, or any part thereof, and
exchange it with property owners, so that new roads, streets or alleys or parts thereof, leading to
or from any property of the state or any of its subdivisions, boards, commissions or political
corporations may be laid out and dedicated to the public use. The property so exchanged shall
become private property.
La. R.S. 48:703. Suit to establish title or interest after notice of abandonment;
prescription. Any person, other than the person to whom the abandoned property is exchanged,
having or claiming to have any right, title, or interest in or to any property abandoned and
exchanged by a parish governing authority pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 48:702 shall file
suit to establish the right claimed within six months after the date of publication of the public
notice of abandonment or lose by prescription all such right, title, and interest in or to the
property. This prescription runs against all persons, including minors and interdicts.
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La. R.S. 48:704. Contracts of exchange. All contracts of exchange made under the provisions
of R.S. 48:702 shall be in notarial form. They shall be followed by an ordinance or dedication of
the new road, street, or alley, with reference to plans made by the parish engineer or a similar
official duly authorized by the governing authority of the parish. These plans shall be recorded
in the office of the clerk of court and recorder of the parish where the exchange is made.
La. R.S. 48:719. Alternative procedure. This Part shall be construed as affording an
alternative procedure to that set forth in R.S. 33:4711, 4712, 4717, 4718, and 4719, and shall
supersede the provisions of R.S. 48:701 through 704 insofar as the parishes and municipalities
specified in R.S. 48:711 are concerned
R. STATE WATER BOUNDARIES
La. R.S. 49:1. Gulfward boundary.
A. The historic gulfward boundary of the state of Louisiana extends a distance into the
Gulf of Mexico three marine leagues from the coastline. For the purposes of this Part, “three
marine leagues” is equal to nine geographic miles or 10.357 statute miles.
B. The coastline of Louisiana shall be the line of ordinary low water along that portion of
the coast which is in direct contact with the open sea and the line marking the seaward limit of
inland waters, and shall be not less than the baseline defined by the coordinates set forth in
United States v. Louisiana, 422 U.S. 13 (1975), Exhibit “A”. Under no circumstances shall the
coastline of Louisiana be nearer inland than the baseline established by such coordinates.
C. No provision of this Section shall be construed to relinquish any dominion,
sovereignty, territory, property, or rights of the state of Louisiana or its political subdivisions
otherwise provided by law.
La. R.S. 49:2. Sovereignty over waters within boundaries.
A. Subject to the right of the government of the United States to regulate foreign and
interstate commerce under Section 8 of Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States, and to
the power of the government of the United States over cases of admiralty and maritime
jurisdiction under Section 2 of Article 3 of the Constitution of the United States, and the powers
of the United States Coast Guard as provided by law to patrol and protect the navigable
waters of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, the State of Louisiana has full sovereignty
over all of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and of the arms of the Gulf of Mexico within the
boundaries of Louisiana, and over the beds and shores of the Gulf and all arms of the Gulf within
the boundaries of Louisiana.
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B. The state of Louisiana shall be entitled to all the lands, minerals and other natural
resources underlying the Gulf of Mexico, extending seaward from its coastline for a distance of
three marine leagues.
La. R.S. 49:3. Ownership of waters within boundaries. The State of Louisiana owns in full
and complete ownership the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and of the arms of the Gulf and the
beds and shores of the Gulf and the arms of the Gulf, including all lands that are covered by the
waters of the Gulf and its arms either at low tide or high tide, within the boundaries of Louisiana.
La. R.S. 49:3.1. Legislative intent and purpose.
A. The gulfward boundary of the state of Louisiana historically consists of three marine
leagues, and it is the intent of the Legislature of Louisiana that this historic gulfward boundary be
recognized and enforced as law.
B. The unequal gulfward boundaries of Gulf Coast states set forth by the United States
Supreme Court in United States of America v. States of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama,
and Florida, 363 U.S. 1 (1960), have resulted in (1) economic disparity and hardship for
Louisiana citizens and entities; (2) economic loss to the state of Louisiana and its political
subdivisions; and (3) the inability of the state of Louisiana and its political subdivisions to fully
exercise their powers and duties under the federal and state constitutions and state laws and
ordinances, including but not limited to protection and restoration of coastal lands, waters,
and natural resources, and regulation of activities affecting them.
C. It is the further intent of the Legislature of Louisiana that, in light of the continuing
effects of coastal erosion, subsidence, and land loss, the coastline of Louisiana should be
recognized as consisting of at least and not less than that coastline defined by the coordinates set
forth in United States v. Louisiana, 422 U.S. 13 (1975), Exhibit "A".
D. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the jurisdiction of the state of
Louisiana or any political subdivision thereof shall not extend to the boundaries recognized
herein until the U.S. Congress acknowledges the boundary described herein by an Act of
Congress or any litigation resulting from the passage of the Act which originated as Senate Bill
No. 145 of the 2011 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana with respect to the
legal boundary of the state is resolved and a final non-appealable judgment is rendered.
La. R.S. 49:4. Water boundary between Louisiana and Mississippi. The water boundary
between the States of Louisiana and Mississippi from the mouth of the Pearl river to the Gulf of
Mexico is fixed by the decree of the Supreme Court of the United States in the suit of Louisiana
versus Mississippi, and marked and buoyed so as to be reasonably permanent and so as to make
the location of the line reasonably plain and apparent to those navigating these waters.
La. R.S. 49:5. Penalty for interference with marks or buoys. Whoever injures, mutilates,
destroys, interferes with or removes any of the marks or buoys located, placed, anchored or
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moored, under the provisions of R.S. 49:4, shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor
more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not less than one year, nor more than five
years, or both.
La. R.S. 49:6. Gulfward boundary of coastal parishes.
A. The gulfward boundaries of the coastal parishes of the state of Louisiana situated east
of the Mississippi River extend from the outer land terminus of their common boundary due east,
true bearing, to the outer gulfward boundary of the state of Louisiana, and the gulfward
boundaries of the coastal parishes situated west of the Mississippi River extend from the outer
land terminus of their common boundaries due south, true bearing, to the outer gulfward
boundary of the state of Louisiana, and the gulfward boundary of all said coastal parishes extend
coextensively with the gulfward boundary of the state of Louisiana.
B. The interior or inland boundaries of all coastal parishes shall remain as now existing or
fixed by applicable state laws.
S. SURVEYS AND SURVEYORS
LOUISIANA COORDINATE SYSTEM
La. R.S. 50:1. Adoption; parishes comprising north and south zones.
A. The systems of plane coordinates which have been established by the National Ocean
Service/National Geodetic Service, formerly the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, or its
successors for defining and stating the geographic positions or locations of points on the surface
of the earth within the state of Louisiana are hereafter to be known and designated as the
Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 and the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983.
B. For the purpose of the use of these systems, the state is divided into a North Zone,
South Zone, and an Offshore Zone.
C. The area now included in the following parishes shall constitute the North Zone:
Avoyelles, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, DeSoto, East
Carroll, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches,
Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll,
and Winn.
D. The area now included in the following parishes shall constitute the South Zone:
Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge,
East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche,
Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemine, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James,
St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne,
Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.
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E. The area now included in that area of the Gulf of Mexico defined as being within 200
miles of the state of Louisiana shall constitute the Offshore Zone.
La. R.S. 50:2. Designation for use in North, South, and Offshore Zones.
A. As established for use in the North Zone, the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 or
the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983 shall be named; and in any land description in which it
is used, it shall be designated the "Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 North Zone" or
"Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983 North Zone".
B. As established for use in the South Zone, the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 or
the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983 shall be named; and in any land description in which it
is used, it shall be designated the "Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 South Zone" or
"Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983 South Zone".
C. As established for use in that area of the Gulf of Mexico defined as being within 200
miles of the state of Louisiana, it shall constitute the Offshore Zone.
La. R.S. 50:3. Plane coordinates. The plane coordinate values for a point on the earth’s
surface, used to express the geographic position or location of such point in the appropriate zone
of this system, shall consist of two distances expressed in U.S. Survey feet and decimals of a foot
when using the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 and expressed in meters and decimals of a
meter, or the equivalent distance in feet and decimals of a foot, (conversion factor is 3937
divided by 1200), when using the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983. One of these distances
to be known as the "x-coordinate", shall give the position in an east and west direction; the other,
to be known as the "y-coordinate", shall give the position in a north and south direction. These
coordinates shall be made to depend upon and conform to plane rectangular coordinate values for
the monumented points of the North American Horizontal Geodetic Control Network as
published by the National Ocean Service/National Geodetic Survey, or its successors, and whose
plane coordinates have been computed on the systems defined in this Chapter. Any such station
may be used for establishing a survey connection to either Louisiana Coordinate System.
La. R.S. 50:4. Describing of location. For purposes of describing the location of any point in
the state of Louisiana, it shall be considered a complete, legal, and satisfactory description of
such location to give the position of said survey station or land boundary corner on the system of
plane coordinates defined in this Chapter.
La. R.S. 50:5. Purchaser or mortgagee not required to rely on description depending solely
on system. Nothing contained in this Chapter shall require a purchaser or mortgagee to rely on a
description, which depends exclusively upon either Louisiana Coordinate System.
La. R.S. 50:6. Land in different zones. When any tract of land to be defined by a single
description extends from one into the other of the above coordinate zones, the positions of all
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points on its boundaries may be referred to either of the two zones, the zone which is used being
specifically named in the description.
La. R.S. 50:7. Louisiana Coordinate System defined.
A. For purposes of more precisely defining the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927, the
following definition by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, now National Ocean
Service/National Geodetic Service, is adopted:
(1) The "Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 North Zone" is a Lambert conformal conic
projection of the Clarke spheroid of 1866, having standard parallels at north latitudes 31 degrees
10 minutes and 32 degrees 40 minutes, along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin
of coordinate is at the intersection of the meridian 92 degrees 30 minutes west of Greenwich and
the parallel 30 degrees 40 minutes north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x =
2,000,000’ and y = 0’, as now defined.
(2) The "Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 South Zone" is a Lambert conformal conic
projection of the Clarke spheroid of 1866, having standard parallels at north latitudes 29 degrees
18 minutes and 30 degrees 42 minutes, along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin
of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 91 degrees 20 minutes west of Greenwich
and the parallel 28 degrees 40 minutes north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x =
2,000,000’ and y = 0’ as now defined.
B. For purposes of more precisely defining the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983, the
following definition by the National Ocean Service/National Geodetic Service is adopted:
(1) The "Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983 North Zone" is a Lambert conformal conic
projection of the North American Datum of 1983, having standard parallels at north latitudes 31
degrees 10 minutes and 32 degrees 40 minutes, along which parallels the scale shall be exact.
The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 92 degrees 30 minutes west of
Greenwich and the parallel 30 degrees 30 minutes north latitude. This origin is given the
coordinates: x = 1,000,000 meters and y = 0 meters.
(2) The "Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983 South Zone" is a Lambert conformal conic
projection of the North American Datum of 1983, having standard parallels at north latitudes 29
degrees 18 minutes and 30 degrees 42 minutes along which parallels the scale shall be exact.
The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 91 degrees 20 minutes west of
Greenwich and the parallel 28 degrees 30 minutes north latitude. This origin is given the
coordinates: x = 1,000,000 meters and y = 0 meters.
(3) The "Louisiana Coordinate System of 1983 Offshore Zone" is a Lambert conformal
conic projection of the North American Datum of 1983, having standard parallels at north
latitudes 26 degrees 10 minutes and 27 degrees 50 minutes, along which parallels the scale shall
be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 91 degrees 20 minutes
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west of Greenwich and the parallel 25 degrees 30 minutes north latitude. This origin is given the
coordinates: x = 1,000,000 meters and y = 0 meters.
La. R.S. 50:8. Distance of boundary points from station. No coordinate based on either
Louisiana Coordinate System, purporting to define the position of a point, shall be presented to
be recorded in any public land records or deed records unless such point is within five kilometers
of a monumented horizontal control station established in conformity with the standards of
accuracy and specification for first or second-order geodetic surveying as prepared and published
by the Federal Geodetic Control Committee (FGCC) of the United States Department of
Commerce. Standards and Specifications of the FGCC or its successors in force on date of said
survey shall apply. The publishing of the existing control stations, or the acceptance with intent
to publish the newly established control stations, by the National Ocean Service/National
Geodetic Service will constitute evidence of adherence to the FGCC Specification. Above
limitations may be modified by a duly authorized state agency, the Department of Transportation
and Development, to meet local conditions.
La. R.S. 50:9. Duly authorized state agency. The state Department of Transportation and
Development is designated as the authorized state agency, as referred to in R.S. 50:8, to
administer the provisions of this Chapter, to collect and distribute information, to authorize such
modifications as are referred to in R.S. 50:8, and generally to advise with and assist appropriate
state and federal agencies and individuals interested in the development of the provisions of this
Chapter.
La. R.S. 50:10. Use of term "Louisiana Coordinate System" in document. The use of the
term "Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 ‘North’, ‘South’ Zones" or "Louisiana Coordinate
System of 1983 ‘North’, ‘South’, or ‘Offshore’ Zones" on any map, report of survey, or other
document shall be limited to coordinates based on the Louisiana Coordinate System as defined in
this Chapter.
La. R.S. 50:11. Termination of 1927 Coordinate System. The Louisiana Coordinate System
of 1927 shall not be used after December 31, 1995.
ENTRY ON AND INJURY TO LAND
La. R.S. 50:61. Right of entry. Any person employed in the execution of a survey authorized
by the Congress of the United States may enter upon lands within the state for the purpose of
doing any work which may be necessary to carry out the object of then existing laws relative to
surveys, and may establish permanent station marks, and erect the necessary signals and
temporary observatories.
La. R.S. 50:62. Liability for entry or work done. The person making use of the authority
conferred in R.S. 50:61 is liable for any damage caused by the entry on the land or by the work
done.
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La. R.S. 50:63. Disagreement as to damages due; petition to court; costs. If the parties
interested cannot agree upon the amount to be paid for damages caused by the entry or by the
work done, either of them may petition the district court in the parish in which the land is
situated to settle the issue. The court shall appoint a time to hear the parties and their witnesses
and shall assess damages.
If there has been a tender of damages to the injured party by the party entering the land, the
injured party shall bear the costs of the suit if the damages finally assessed by the court do not
exceed the amount tendered. If the damages assessed by the court are more than the amount
tendered, the party entering upon the land shall bear the costs.
La. R.S. 50:64. Defacing, injuring, or removing property of U.S. survey; penalty; damages.
Any person who wilfully defaces, injures, or removes any property of the United States coast and
geodetic, or geological, or other survey, constructed or used by virtue of an act of Congress
referred to in R.S. 50:61 shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty dollars for
each offense and shall be liable in a civil action for damages sustained by the United States in
consequence thereof.
SURVEYS BY STATE
La. R.S. 50:121. Reasons for surveys. The Register of the State Land Office may cause
surveys and resurveys to be made, in order to establish or re-establish township lines, range lines,
section lines, corners, and half-mile stations, where the original monuments have been destroyed
or lost or are uncertain, or where the lines, corners, or stations were never actually established.
La. R.S. 50:122. Register may procure field notes and hire surveyors and helpers to make
survey. The Register of the State Land Office may, from time to time, procure necessary field
notes, where any exist from actual surveys, and may employ one or more competent surveyors
and the necessary helpers, in order to make any survey or re-survey authorized by this Chapter.
La. R.S. 50:123. Petition for survey; notice; survey and map; cost. Upon petition of any
individual owning land in any township, or section thereof, which has never been surveyed or
which has been only partially surveyed or in which the lines or corners have become obliterated
or are uncertain, in whole or part, the Register of the State Land Office shall, after giving written
notice to the other record owners of land in the area in need of surveying so that they may attend
if they desire, proceed without delay to have the township surveyed or re-surveyed and a map
made showing township and section lines and corners and half-mile stations. The landowner
petitioning for the survey shall bear the expense thereof.
La. R.S. 50:124. Landowners’ liability for expenses. The Register of the State Land Office
may charge to landowners desiring a survey or re-survey its actual cost and expense, including
the cost and expense of establishing or re-establishing the lines, corners, and half-mile stations
and the cost of appropriate permanent markers, monuments, or witnesses.
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La. R.S. 50:125. Conformance to prior survey or to plats under which lands granted. In
making re-surveys under the provisions of this Part, the surveyor shall, as nearly as possible, re-
establish the original lines of any prior survey made under United States or state authority. In all
townships or portions of townships where no survey has been made, the surveyor, in surveying
or platting the township or portion thereof, shall make it conform as nearly as practicable to the
lots and sections indicated upon the plats according to which the lands were granted by the state
or by the United States.
La. R.S. 50:126. Filing of field notes and map or plat; effect of approval. In all cases where
the Register of the State Land Office has caused a township, or one or more sections thereof, to
be surveyed or resurveyed, field notes of this survey and the map or plat thereof shall be filed in
the State Land Office. When the survey or re-survey and the maps or plat thereof are approved
by the Register of the State Land Office, they shall be the official survey and map or plat of the
township or section or sections thereof.
La. R.S. 50:127. Recording of copy of proces verbal and of map or plat of survey in parish;
filing of originals. Whenever the register of the State Land Office approves a survey, whether it
be an original survey or a re-survey, and whether or not a prior survey had theretofore been
approved, he shall file a certified copy of the proces verbal of the survey, showing his approval
and embracing all field notes, and a certified copy of the map or plat of the survey, with the clerk
of court and ex-officio recorder of the parish in which the area covered by the survey is situated;
and the clerk shall record this proces verbal in the records of his office. The originals, with the
approval by the Register of the State Land Office, shall be filed in the State Land Office.
La. R.S. 50:128. Conclusiveness of survey; evidence; correcting or setting aside. All
surveys or re-surveys, and the plats thereof, approved by the Register of the State Land Office,
are binding on all parties, and copies thereof, certified by the clerk of court or by the Register of
the State Land Office, are conclusive evidence of the correctness thereof in any court. No court
may set aside any such approved survey, re-survey, or plat except in a direct action brought for
that purpose on the ground of fraud or gross error in the making of the survey. If a survey is set
aside in this manner, a re-survey may be made as provided in this Chapter. Only the executive
department of the government may make and correct surveys or re-surveys approved by the
Register of the State Land Office. No court shall alter or amend in any way any part of an
approved survey or re-survey or the plat thereof.
SURVEYS BY PARISHES
La. R.S. 50:151. Authorization to hire surveyors, procure field notes, and make surveys.
Any parish, except the Parish of Orleans, may procure necessary field notes from any previous
survey and may employ one or more competent surveyors to survey or re-survey and establish or
reestablish township lines, range lines, section corners, and half-mile stations where these have
never been surveyed or established or where the original witness trees have been destroyed or
lost.
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La. R.S. 50:152. Petition by landowners for survey; survey and map. Upon the petition of
landowners owning more than fifty per cent of the land in a township which has never been
wholly surveyed or the lines of which are obliterated or destroyed, the governing authority of the
parish in which the township is situated shall immediately have the township surveyed and a map
made thereof.
La. R.S. 50:153. Cost of survey or re-survey. Except in the situation referred to in R.S.
50:152, the governing authority of the parish may appropriate money out of the general fund of
the parish to defray the expenses of the survey or resurvey and of the establishing or re-
establishing of the lines, corners, and half mile stations with cement, cast iron, or other
permanent material. In the situation set out in R.S. 50:152, the landowners petitioning for the
survey shall bear its costs.
La. R.S. 50:154. Conformance to prior survey or to plats under which lands sold by state
or by U.S. In making his survey, the surveyor shall, as nearly as possible, re-establish the
original lines of any prior survey made under United States or state authority. Where no survey
has been made, the surveyor, in surveying and platting a township, shall make his survey
conform, as nearly as practicable, to the lots and sections as indicated on the plats according to
which the lands were sold by the state or by the United States. Nothing in this Section affects the
articles of the Louisiana Civil Code relating to boundaries.
La. R.S. 50:155. Recording copy of resolution, proces verbal of survey, and blue print
maps in parish; filing with State Land Office. When the governing authority of the parish
approves a survey under the provisions of this Part, whether it is an original or a re-survey, and
whether or not a survey had theretofore been approved, it shall file a certified copy of the
resolution approving the survey, the proces verbal of the survey, embracing all field notes, and a
tracing or blue print map of the actual survey of the township with the clerk of court and ex-
officio recorder of the parish in which the township is situated, and he shall record all of them in
the records of the parish. The governing authority of the parish shall also file similar documents
with the Register of the State Land Office.
La. R.S. 50:156. Establishing permanent markers after survey approval. After the
governing authority of the parish has approved a survey under this Part, it shall establish
appropriate markers made of some permanent material on the lines, corners, or half-mile stations
covered by the survey.
La. R.S. 50:157. Surveys affecting parish boundary lines; how made official. Wherever,
under the provisions of this Part, a boundary line between two or more parishes is involved, the
survey affecting that line shall be approved, in accordance with the provisions of this Part, by the
governing authorities of all the parishes affected by the survey before it becomes official and
legal.
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STANDARDS FOR LAND MAPPING SYSTEMS
La. R.S. 50:171. Statewide land information mapping and records system; standards.
A. The Department of Natural Resources, office of state lands, shall establish, promulgate,
and maintain appropriate standards for a statewide land information mapping and map records
system of all lands, private and public, within the state of Louisiana to promote and ensure
compatibility, uniformity, and cost-effectiveness by public entities. These standards shall be
developed to include the establishment of appropriate photogrametric or electronic mapping
techniques and procedures which efficiently accommodate land information collection,
maintenance, sharing, and retrieval. The department shall adopt these standards by rules adopted
pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act prior to January 1, 1991.
B. The standards required by Subsection A shall be employed by every parish governing
authority or tax assessor undertaking the development of a land information mapping and map
records system to assure that the assessment rolls of the parish contain a complete list of all
taxable property. Only parish and tax assessor land information mapping and map records
systems complying with these standards shall be eligible for state financial aid.
C. Information contained in the land information system shall not constitute or be
considered as a legal representation of immovable property.
La. R.S. 50:172. Technical assistance and implementation.
A. The division of administration, office of state lands, shall provide technical assistance
and advice to local governmental units and assessors in the development of land information
mapping and records systems and the implementation of the state standards established under
R.S. 50:171.
B to D. Repealed.
La. R.S. 50:173. Maintaining currency of standards. The office of state lands shall have the
authority to promulgate and adopt such additional standards and upgrade existing standards
regarding land information and records systems by rules adopted pursuant to the Administrative
Procedure Act.
La. R.S. 50:173.1. Vertical control standards. Vertical controls for all surveys shall be
determined in the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). All measurements shall
be referenced to local control stations of the National Spatial Reference System, specifically the
public domain Louisiana State University Continuously Operating Reference Stations network or
other currently National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic
Survey approved reference stations, such as benchmarks, monuments, or continually operating
reference stations.
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La. R.S. 50:174. Parish land information office.
A. Parish land information mapping and records system programs may be initiated by
either the parish government or by the parish office of the assessor.
B. Each parish government or assessor may either establish a parish land information
office, or the functions and duties of the land information office may be directed to be performed
by an existing parish department or by the office of the assessor.
C. The duties of the parish land information office shall include:
(1) The coordination of land information projects within the parish, between the parish and
local government units, between the state and local governmental units, among local
governmental units, the federal government, and the private sector.
(2) The establishment of a land information systems advisory user committee.
(3) The identification of possible program revenue sources for the initial development and
future maintenance of the parish land information mapping and records system.
(4) The preparation of an implementation plan, setting forth the time schedule, the
estimated total cost, and an annual budget for developing a parishwide land information mapping
and records system.
(5) Applying for state financial aid, when available, from the office of state lands.
PARISHES AND PARISH BOUNDARIES
La. R.S. 50:221. Fixing parish boundary. Whenever the governing authority of any parish
desires to ascertain and fix the boundary line of any adjoining parish, it shall pass an ordinance to
that effect fixing a time and place for starting the running of the boundary. It shall then serve the
presiding officer of the governing authority of the adjoining parish with a copy of the ordinance
and with notice, at least six months in advance, of the time and place of starting the running of
the boundary.
The surveyors appointed for that purpose, or, if there were none specifically appointed, the
parish surveyors of both parishes shall, at the time fixed, proceed to the running and marking of
the boundary line. If the surveyor of either parish fails to attend at the time and place fixed, the
other surveyor shall wait two days and if the first does not arrive within that time shall proceed to
the running and marking of the boundary line.
La. R.S. 50:222. Preserving returns showing boundary. After a boundary line has been run
and marked as prescribed in R.S. 50:221, due return of the survey shall be made to the presiding
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officer of the governing authority of each parish and he shall have it filed and preserved in the
office of the recorder.
La. R.S. 50:225. Contracts for surveys and maps of parish. Any parish governing authority
may contract for an aerial survey and mosaic map of its parish. This survey and map shall be
drawn to scale and shall show range and township reference, township lines, section lines, and
such other general information incidental and necessary to the survey and map as may be
required by the parish governing authority and as is set out in the contract for the survey and
mosaic map. Each section shall be completely numbered.
La. R.S. 50:226. Payment of obligations incurred incidental to survey and mosaic map.
The cost of the contracted obligation incurred incidental to the survey and mosaic map as
required in R.S. 50:225 shall be paid for by all tax recipient bodies in the parish in the proportion
that each shares in tax monies collected and allotted from ad valorem taxes collected. The
governing authority of the parish and the various tax recipient bodies who share in the tax
monies may either appropriate money out of their general fund or pledge and dedicate its
revenues and issue obligations to meet its share of the obligations incurred incidental to the
survey and mosaic map.
La. R.S. 50:227. Survey and map approved by parish governing authority; effect. When an
aerial survey and mosaic map of the parish have been approved by the governing authority of the
parish by a proper resolution, they are the official survey and mosaic map of the parish and shall
be fully preserved in the parish archives.
La. R.S. 50:228. Effect of survey on assessment roll of parish. Upon the completion of an
aerial survey and mosaic map of the parish and the approval thereof by the parish governing
authority, as provided in R.S. 50:227, the assessor of the parish shall compare the assessment roll
of the parish with the mosaic map and shall include on that roll any taxable property or
properties shown on the mosaic map but not shown on the assessment roll. The governing
authority of the parish shall satisfy itself that the assessment roll of the parish contains a
complete list of all taxable property in the parish, as shown by the mosaic map.
T. OYSTERS AND OYSTER INDUSTRIES
La. R.S. 56:425. Lease of water bottoms; stipulations; boundary disputes.
A. The secretary may lease to any resident, any firm composed of residents, or any
corporation domiciled in or organized under the laws of this state any state-owned water bottoms
and natural reefs in the water bottoms of this state under the limitations stipulated or authorized
in this Subpart. No lease shall be granted until a reasonable investigation into the question of
ownership is complete and, based on the findings, a determination is made that the state owns the
water bottoms to be leased. Any lease for the taking of oysters granted by the secretary prior to
June 15, 2006 which affects privately owned water bottoms shall be subordinate to the rights of
the private landowner or recorded land title owner effective on that date.
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B. All leases and renewals of leases made under the provisions of this Subpart shall
stipulate as a matter of contract that the lessee will operate both under the laws of this state and
the rules and regulations of the department.
C. The secretary may make such stipulations in the leases made by him as he deems
necessary and proper to develop the industry; however, these stipulations must be consistent with
the provisions of this Subpart. The secretary may also make such stipulations as he deems
necessary and proper in relation to coastal protection, conservation, or restoration.
D. The department may fully settle all disputes as to boundaries between lessees of
bedding grounds, subject to appeal to any court of competent jurisdiction.
E. No lease shall be granted for any water bottom for which any lease was previously
acquired by the state for integrated coastal protection, unless the executive director of the Coastal
Protection and Restoration Authority determines that leasing would otherwise be appropriate
under the provisions of this Subpart and the executive director of the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority affirms that the water bottom is not necessary for integrated coastal
protection. Unless this determination has been made prior to issuance of the lease, a lease of
water bottom for which a lease was previously acquired shall be null and void for such water
bottom and shall be of no force or effect. No person shall have any claim against the state of
Louisiana, its political subdivisions, the United States, or any agency, agent, contractor, or
employee thereof or any other person in relation to the nullity of such lease.
F. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority shall determine areas of the coast
where buffer zones between oyster leases and the shoreline may be necessary to protect sensitive
and eroding coastal lands. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority shall review each
application for an oyster lease or renewal or expansion of an oyster lease to determine if the
water bottom applied for is located in an area where a buffer zone may be necessary and shall
delineate the extent of the buffer zone necessary for each application.
La. R.S. 56:426. Filing and recordation of water bottoms leases.
A. Leases shall be executed in duplicate and a copy of the plan of survey annexed thereto.
One duplicate shall be delivered to the lessee and the other retained by the department and
registered in a lease book for that purpose.
B. All persons to whom water bottoms leases are granted shall, within thirty days
following the granting thereof, record an executed copy of such lease or leases, together with a
plat or map of survey indicating the area affected, in the conveyance records of the parish or
parishes of the state of Louisiana in which the area is located. Within twenty days from such
recordation, certified copies of the plat or map of survey shall be filed with the department.
Transfers of leases from one person to another shall be likewise recorded and filed.
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C. If a lease is not recorded and filed within the time periods provided above, no third
party shall be bound or affected by the provisions of that lease, until such time as it is properly
recorded and filed. There shall be no claim against the state of Louisiana for the disregard of the
provisions of any lease not properly recorded and filed in accordance with the foregoing, nor
shall there be any claim against the department, the register of the state land office, or the State
Mineral and Energy Board, for the disregard of the provisions of any lease which has not been
properly filed with the respective agency involved.
D. All leases of water bottoms for oyster culture previously granted and not filed and
recorded as provided for in this Subpart, and all such leases hereafter granted, and not recorded
as provided herein, shall be subordinate to the rights of the state of Louisiana, its agencies and
lessees, with respect to the granting of mineral and shell leases and the exercise of rights
thereunder. The renewal or extension of the term of an existing oyster lease shall not be deemed
a new lease, but a renewal or extension shall be recorded no later than six months after the
expiration of the term of the previous lease.
La. R.S. 56:427. Initial application for lease.
A. Any person who qualifies under this Subpart and who desires to lease a part of the
bottom or bed of any of the waters of this state as provided in this Subpart shall present to the
secretary a written application and pay an application fee set by the commission. This
application shall contain the name and address of the applicant and a reasonably definite
description of the location and amount of land covered by water desired by the applicant. The
applicant shall ask that the application be registered and that the water bottom described be
leased to the applicant under the provisions of this Subpart. The department shall then register
the application, shall order an examination to determine whether the water bottoms applied for
are leasable, and shall determine the basis upon which the rental of the lease shall be fixed. If
the area is found to be leasable, the applicant shall submit to the department a survey of the area
for which the application was submitted. Such survey shall have been conducted in accordance
with the standards required by the department. The application shall remain in effect and valid
until such time as the survey is complete. If the application is favorably acted upon, the
secretary may, at his option, execute a lease for the water bottoms to the applicant as soon as the
survey has been made, and the plan or map thereof has been filed with the department.
B. When applications are made by two or more persons for the same water bottoms, the
applicant or the heirs or transferors of a deceased applicant who files the first application has
prior claim. The department shall not accept any survey plan for any lease that exceeds by ten
percent the acreage described in the initial application for the particular lease from the date of
adoption of this Subsection, except that the department may accept any lease application, even
where the survey plan exceeds by ten percent the acreage described in the initial application, if
the lease would not overlap or impact surrounding leases or pending lease applications.
C. The department shall require that the bottoms of water areas to be leased be as compact
as possible, taking into consideration such factors as the shape of the body of water, and the
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condition of the bottom as to hardness or softness which would render it desirable or undesirable
for the purpose of oyster cultivation.
D. The provisions of this Section shall apply only to the initial application for an oyster
lease, and not to the renewal of a lease.
E. No application for a new lease shall be submitted nor accepted for more than one
thousand acres.
F. The secretary may not execute a lease until the department has posted notice of the
application for the lease on its website for ninety consecutive days.
(1) Any person claiming ownership of the water bottoms to be leased may protest the
issuance of the lease on the grounds that the protesting party owns the water bottoms, but only by
delivering via certified mail notice of the protest in writing to the secretary, the administrator of
the state land office, and the lease applicant on or before the ninetieth day after notice of the
application was posted. The notice of protest shall include all information and documentation
that the protesting party believes is relevant to the question of ownership. The right to protest
issuance of the lease pursuant to this Subsection shall expire if a protest is not made on or before
the ninetieth day after notice of the application was posted.
(2) If a protest is timely made, the administrator of the state land office shall review the
state’s claim to ownership of the contested water bottoms and issue a preliminary determination
to the secretary, the protesting party, and the lease applicant within ninety days of receiving the
notice of protest, as to whether the state claims ownership of the contested water bottoms. The
administrator shall issue a final written determination as to whether the state claims ownership of
the water bottom within one hundred eighty days of receiving the notice of protest. If a protest is
timely made, the secretary may execute the lease as otherwise authorized under this Subpart only
to the extent that the administrator of the state land office determines that the state claims
ownership of the contested water bottoms. The relief available pursuant to and the results and
effects of such a protest and determination are limited to those set forth in this Subsection. The
determination by the administrator of the state land office shall not be reviewable under the
Administrative Procedure Act, and is appealable only to the Nineteenth Judicial District Court.
Any petition for judicial review of the determination pursuant to this Subsection must be filed
within sixty days after issuance of the determination. Failure to make a protest pursuant to this
Subsection has no effect on the right to claim ownership of the leased water bottom authorized
by R.S. 56:423(D) or the reasonable investigation into the ownership of the water bottom by the
state required by R.S. 56:425(A).
(3) A lease applicant may withdraw a lease application and receive a full refund from the
department of all application fees, by submitting a written request for withdrawal to the
department within one hundred twenty days after the department posts notice of the application
on its website, within thirty days after issuance of the determination of the administrator of the
state land office regarding the state’s claim to ownership pursuant to a protest authorized by this
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Subsection, or within thirty days after final judgment in any proceeding for judicial review of the
determination, whichever is the later date.
G. The secretary shall not lease any water bottom located within seventy-five feet of the
centerline of a pipeline that is located on purchased right-of-way. However, if the right-of-way is
abandoned and returned to commerce, the secretary may then lease such water bottom.
IV. FEDERAL LAWS PERTAINING TO SURVEYING –
EXCERPTS FROM THE UNITED STATES CODE
A. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
43 U.S.C. §2. Duties concerning public lands. The Secretary of the Interior or such officer as
he may designate shall perform all executive duties appertaining to the surveying and sale of the
public lands of the United States, or in anywise respecting such public lands, and, also, such as
relate to private claims of land, and the issuing of patents for all grants of land under the
authority of the Government.
43 U.S.C. §6. Duties of employees to certify, record, etc., patents. It shall be the duty of such
officers or employees of the Bureau of Land Management as may be designated by the Secretary
of the Interior, in pursuance of instructions from the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he
may designate, to certify and affix the seal of the office to all patents for public lands, and to
attend to the correct engrossing, recording, and transmission of such patents. They shall prepare
alphabetical indexes of the names of patentees, and of persons entitled to patents; and shall
prepare such copies and exemplifications of matters on file or recorded in the Bureau of Land
Management as the Secretary or such officer may from time to time direct.
43 U.S.C. §17. Plats of land surveyed. The Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may
designate shall, when required by the President or either House of Congress, make a plat of any
land surveyed under the authority of the United States, and give such information respecting the
public lands and concerning the business of the Bureau of Land Management as shall be
directed.
B. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
43 U.S.C. §31. Director of United States Geological Survey.
(a) Establishment of office; appointment and duties; examination of geological
structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain; prohibitions in respect
to lands and surveys
The Director of the United States Geological Survey, which office is hereby established, under
the Interior Department, shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate. This officer shall have the direction of the United States Geological Survey, and
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the classification of the public lands and examination of the geological structure, mineral
resources, and products of the national domain. The Director and members of the United States
Geological Survey shall have no personal or private interest in the lands or mineral wealth of the
region under survey, and shall execute no surveys or examinations for private parties or
corporations.
(b) Examination of geological structure, mineral resources, and products outside the
national domain
The authority of the Secretary of the Interior, exercised through the United States Geological
Survey of the Department of the Interior, to examine the geological structure, mineral resources,
and products of the national domain, is hereby expanded to authorize such examinations outside
the national domain where determined by the Secretary to be in the national interest.
43 U.S.C. §38. Topographic surveys; marking elevations. In making topographic surveys
west of the ninety-fifth meridian elevations above a base level located in each area under survey
shall be determined and marked on the ground by iron or stone posts or permanent bench marks,
at least two such posts or bench marks to be established in each township, or equivalent area,
except in the forest-clad and mountain areas, where at least one shall be established, and these
shall be placed, whenever practicable, near the township corners of the public-land surveys; and
in the areas east of the ninety-fifth meridian at least one such post or bench mark shall be
similarly established in each area equivalent to the area of a township of the public land surveys.
C. SURVEYS
43 U.S.C. §52. Surveying duties. The Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may
designate shall engage a sufficient number of skillful surveyors as his deputies, to whom he is
authorized to administer the necessary oaths upon their appointments. He shall have authority to
frame regulations for their direction, not inconsistent with law or the instructions of the Bureau
of Land Management, and to remove them for negligence or misconduct in office.
Second. He shall cause to be surveyed, measured, and marked, without delay, all base and
meridian lines through such points and perpetuated by such monuments, and such other
correction parallels and meridians as may be prescribed by law or by instructions from the
Bureau of Land Management, in respect to the public lands to which the Indian title has been or
may be extinguished.
Third. He shall cause to be surveyed all private land-claims after they have been confirmed by
authority of Congress, so far as may be necessary to complete the survey of the public lands.
Fourth. He shall transmit to the officer, as the Secretary of the Interior may designate, of the
respective land-offices general and particular plats of all lands surveyed by him for each land
district; and he shall forward copies of such plats to such officer as the Secretary may designate.
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Fifth. He shall, so far as is compatible with the desk-duties of his office, occasionally inspect the
surveying operations while in progress in the field, sufficiently to satisfy himself of the fidelity
of the execution of the work according to contract, and the actual and necessary expenses
incurred by him while so engaged shall be allowed; and where it is incompatible with his other
duties for the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate to devote the time
necessary to make a personal inspection of the work in progress, then he is authorized to depute a
confidential agent to make such examination; and the actual and necessary expenses of such
person shall be allowed and paid for that service, and $5 a day during the examination in the
field; but such examination shall not be protracted beyond thirty days; and in no case longer than
is actually necessary; and when the Secretary or such officer, or any person employed in his
office at a regular salary, is engaged in such special service, he shall receive only his necessary
expenses in addition to his regular salary.
43 U.S.C. §53. Powers devolved on Secretary of the Interior on turning over of papers to
States. In all cases where, as provided in section 54 of this title, the field notes, maps, records,
and other papers appertaining to land titles in any State are turned over to the authorities of such
State, the same authority, powers, and duties in relation to the survey, resurvey, or subdivision of
the lands therein, and all matters and things connected therewith, as previously exercised by the
surveyor general, whose district included such State, shall be vested in, and devolved upon, the
Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate.
43 U.S.C. §54. Completion of surveys; delivery to States. The Secretary of the Interior shall
take all the necessary measures for the completion of the surveys in the several surveying
districts, at the earliest periods compatible with the purposes contemplated by law; and whenever
the surveys and records of any such district are completed, the Secretary of the Interior or such
officer as he may designate shall deliver over to the secretary of state of the respective States,
including such surveys, or to such other officer as may be authorized to receive them, all the
field notes, maps, records, and other papers appertaining to land titles within the same.
43 U.S.C. §55. Field notes delivered to States; access to. Under the authority and direction of
the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate, any deputy surveyor or other
agent of the United States shall have free access to any field notes, maps, records, and other
papers, mentioned in section 53 of this title, for the purpose of taking extracts therefrom, or
making copies thereof, without charge of any kind.
43 U.S.C. §56. Conditions of delivery to States. The field notes, maps, records, and other
papers mentioned in section 53 of this title, shall in no case be turned over to the authorities of
any State, until such State has provided by law for the reception and safe-keeping of the same as
public records, and for the allowance of free access to the same by the authorities of the United
States.
43 U.S.C. §58. Transcripts from records of Louisiana. Any copy of a plat of survey, or
transcript from the records of the office of the former surveyor general of Louisiana, duly
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certified, shall be admitted as evidence in all the courts of the United States and the Territories
thereof.
D. RECLAMATION AND IRRIGATION OF LANDS BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
43 U.S.C. §561. Survey and subdivision of land for town sites; reservation for public
purposes. The Secretary of the Interior may in connection with irrigation projects under the
reclamation Act of June 17, 1902, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in each case,
survey and subdivide the same into town lots, with appropriate reservations for public purposes:
Provided, That, whenever, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior, it shall be advisable for
the public interest, he may dispose of town sites in excess of one hundred and sixty acres.
E. SURVEY OF PUBLIC LANDS
43 U.S.C. §751. Rules of survey. The public lands shall be divided by north and south lines run
according to the true meridian, and by others crossing them at right angles, so as to form
townships of six miles square, unless where the line of an Indian reservation, or of tracts of land
surveyed or patented prior to May 18, 1796, or the course of navigable rivers, may render this
impracticable; and in that case this rule must be departed from no further than such particular
circumstances require.
Second. The corners of the townships must be marked with progressive numbers from the
beginning; each distance of a mile between such corners must be also distinctly marked with
marks different from those of the corners.
Third. The township shall be subdivided into sections, containing, as nearly as may be, six
hundred and forty acres each, by running parallel lines through the same from east to west and
from south to north at the distance of one mile from each other, and marking corners at the
distance of each half mile. The sections shall be numbered, respectively, beginning with the
number one in the northeast section and proceeding west and east alternately through the
township with progressive numbers, until the thirty-six be completed.
Fourth. The deputy surveyors, respectively, shall cause to be marked on a tree near each corner
established in the manner described, and within the section, the number of such section, and over
it the number of the township within which such section may be; and the deputy surveyors shall
carefully note, in their respective field books, the names of the corner-trees marked and the
numbers so made.
Fifth. Where the exterior lines of the townships which may be subdivided into sections or half-
sections exceed, or do not extend six miles, the excess or deficiency shall be specially noted, and
added to or deducted from the western and northern ranges of sections or half-sections in such
township, according as the error may be in running the lines from east to west, or from north to
south; the sections and half-sections bounded on the northern and western lines of such
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townships shall be sold as containing only the quantity expressed in the returns and plats
respectively, and all others as containing the complete legal quantity.
Sixth. All lines shall be plainly marked upon trees, and measured with chains, containing two
perches of sixteen and one-half feet each, subdivided into twenty-five equal links; and the chain
shall be adjusted to a standard to be kept for that purpose.
Seventh. Every surveyor shall note in his field book the true situations of all mines, salt licks,
salt springs, and mill-seats which come to his knowledge; all watercourses over which the line he
runs may pass; and also the quality of the lands.
Eighth. These field books shall be returned to the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he
may designate, who shall cause therefrom a description of the whole lands surveyed to be made
out and transmitted to the officers who may superintend the sales. He shall also cause a fair plat
to be made of the townships and fractional parts of townships contained in the lands, describing
the subdivisions thereof, and the marks of the corners. This plat shall be recorded in books to be
kept for that purpose; and a copy thereof shall be kept open at the office of the Secretary of the
Interior or of such agency as he may designate for public information, and other copies shall be
sent to the places of the sale, and to the Bureau of Land Management.
43 U.S.C. §752. Boundaries and contents of public lands; how ascertained. The boundaries
and contents of the several sections, half-sections, and quarter-sections of the public lands shall
be ascertained in conformity with the following principles:
First. All the corners marked in the surveys, returned by the Secretary of the Interior or such
agency as he may designate, shall be established as the proper corners of sections, or
subdivisions of sections, which they were intended to designate; and the corners of half- and
quarter-sections, not marked on the surveys, shall be placed as nearly as possible equidistant
from two corners which stand on the same line.
Second. The boundary lines, actually run and marked in the surveys returned by the Secretary of
the Interior or such agency as he may designate, shall be established as the proper boundary lines
of the sections, or subdivisions, for which they were intended, and the length of such lines as
returned, shall be held and considered as the true length thereof. And the boundary lines which
have not been actually run and marked shall be ascertained, by running straight lines from the
established corners to the opposite corresponding corners; but in those portions of the fractional
townships where no such opposite corresponding corners have been or can be fixed, the
boundary lines shall be ascertained by running from the established corners due north and south
or east and west lines, as the case may be, to the watercourse, Indian boundary line, or other
external boundary of such fractional township.
Third. Each section or subdivision of section, the contents whereof have been returned by the
Secretary of the Interior or such agency as he may designate, shall be held and considered as
containing the exact quantity expressed in such return; and the half sections and quarter sections,
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the contents whereof shall not have been thus returned, shall be held and considered as
containing the one-half or the one-fourth part, respectively, of the returned contents of the
section of which they may make part.
43 U.S.C. §753. Lines of division of half quarter sections; how run. In every case of the
division of a quarter section the line for the division thereof shall run north and south, and the
corners and contents of half quarter-sections which may thereafter be sold, shall be ascertained in
the manner and on the principles directed and prescribed by section 752 of this title, and
fractional sections containing one hundred and sixty acres or upwards shall in like manner as
nearly as practicable be subdivided into half quarter sections under such rules and regulations as
may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and in every case of a division of a half
quarter section, the line for the division thereof shall run east and west, and the corners and
contents of quarter quarter sections, which may thereafter be sold, shall be ascertained as nearly
as may be, in the manner, and on the principles, directed and prescribed by the section preceding;
and fractional sections containing fewer or more than one hundred and sixty acres shall in like
manner, as nearly as may be practicable, be subdivided into quarter quarter sections, under such
rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.
43 U.S.C. §757. Cost of survey of private land claims to be reported and paid. An accurate
account shall be kept by the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate of the
cost of surveying and platting every private land claim to be reported to the Bureau of Land
Management with the map of such claim; and a patent shall not issue nor shall any copy of any
such survey be furnished for any such private claim until the cost of survey and platting shall
have been paid into the Treasury of the United States by the party or parties in interest in said
grant or by any other party.
43 U.S.C. §758. Delivery of patent contingent on refund of cost of survey. In all cases of the
survey of private land claims the cost of the same shall be refunded to the Treasury by the owner
before the delivery of the patent.
43 U.S.C. §759. Survey for and by settlers in township. When the settlers in any township
not mineral or reserved by the Government, or persons and associations lawfully possessed of
coal lands and otherwise qualified to make entry thereof, or when the owners or grantees of
public lands of the United States, under any law thereof, desire a survey made of the same under
the authority of such agency as the Secretary of the Interior may designate and shall file an
application therefor in writing, and shall deposit in a proper United States depository to the credit
of the United States a sum sufficient to pay for such survey, together with all expenditures
incident thereto, without cost or claim for indemnity on the United States, it shall be lawful for
such agency, under such instructions as may be given by the Secretary of the Interior or such
officer as he may designate, and in accordance with law, to survey such township or such public
lands owned by said grantees of the Government, and make return therefor to the general and
proper local land office: Provided, That no application shall be granted unless the township so
proposed to be surveyed is within the range of the regular progress of the public surveys
embraced by existing standard lines or bases for township and subdivisional surveys.
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43 U.S.C. §760. Deposit for expenses deemed an appropriation. The deposit of money in a
proper United States depository, under the provisions of section 759 of this title, shall be deemed
an appropriation of the sums so deposited for the objects contemplated by said section, and the
Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to cause the sums so deposited to be placed to the credit
of the proper appropriations for the surveying service; but any excesses in such sums over and
above the actual cost of the surveys, comprising all expenses incident thereto, for which they
were severally deposited, shall be repaid to the depositors respectively.
43 U.S.C. §761. Repayment of excess of deposits to cover cost of surveys of mineral lands.
The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay, out of the moneys heretofore or
hereafter covered into the Treasury from deposits made by individuals to cover cost of work
performed and to be performed in the offices of such agency as the Secretary of the Interior may
designate in connection with the survey of mineral lands, any excess in the amount deposited
over and above the actual cost of the work performed, including all expenses incident thereto for
which the deposits were severally made or the whole of any unused deposit; and such sums, as
the several cases may be, shall be deemed to be annually and permanently appropriated for that
purpose. Such repayments shall be made to the person or persons who made the several
deposits, or to his or their legal representatives, after the completion or abandonment of the work
for which the deposits were made, and upon an account certified by the office of such agency of
the district in which the mineral land surveyed, or sought to be surveyed, is situated and
approved by the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate.
43 U.S.C. §762. Deposits made by settlers for surveys to go in part payment of lands.
Where settlers or owners or grantees of public lands make deposits in accordance with the
provisions of section 759 of this title, certificates shall be issued for such deposits which may be
used by settlers in part payment for the lands settled upon by them, the survey of which is paid
for out of such deposits, or said certificates may be assigned by indorsement and may be
received by the Government in payment for any public lands of the United States in the States
where the surveys were made, entered or to be entered under the laws thereof.
43 U.S.C. §763. Deposits in Louisiana applicable to resurveys. Such sums as have been or
may be deposited for surveys in Louisiana by actual settlers, under sections 759, 760, and 762 of
this title, may be, in whole or in part, employed in making such resurveys as may be necessary in
the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate.
43 U.S.C. §766. Geological surveys, extension of public surveys, expenses of subdividing.
There shall be no further geological survey by the Government, unless authorized by law. The
public surveys shall extend over all mineral lands; and all subdividing of surveyed lands into lots
less than one hundred and sixty acres may be done by county and local surveyors at the expense
of claimants; but nothing in this section contained shall require the survey of waste or useless
lands.
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43 U.S.C. §770. Rectangular mode of survey; departure from. The Secretary of the Interior
may, by regulation, provide that departures may be made from the system of rectangular surveys
whenever it is not feasible or economical to extend the rectangular surveys in the regular manner
or whenever such departure would promote the beneficial use of lands.
43 U.S.C. §772. Resurveys or retracements to mark boundaries of undisposed lands. The
Secretary of the Interior may, as of March 3, 1909, in his discretion cause to be made, as he may
deem wise under the rectangular system on that date provided by law, such resurveys or
retracements of the surveys of public lands as, after full investigation, he may deem essential to
properly mark the boundaries of the public lands remaining undisposed of: Provided, That no
such resurvey or retracement shall be so executed as to impair the bona fide rights or claims of
any claimant, entryman, or owner of lands affected by such resurvey or retracement.
43 U.S.C. §773. Resurveys or retracements of township lines, etc. Upon the application of
the owners of three-fourths of the privately owned lands in any township covered by public-land
surveys, more than 50 per centum of the area of which townships is privately owned,
accompanied by a deposit with the Secretary of the Interior, or such officer as he may designate,
of the proportionate estimated cost, inclusive of the necessary work, of the resurvey or
retracement of all the privately owned lands in said township, the Secretary, or such officer as he
may designate, shall be authorized in his discretion to cause to be made a resurvey or
retracement of the lines of said township and to set permanent corners and monuments in
accordance with the laws and regulations governing surveys and resurveys of public lands. The
sum so deposited shall be held by the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may
designate, and may be expended in payment of the cost of such survey, including field and office
work, and any excess over the cost of such survey and the expenses incident thereto shall be
repaid pro rata to the persons making said deposits or their legal representatives. The
proportionate cost of the field and office work for the resurvey or retracement of any public lands
in such township shall be paid from the current appropriation for the survey and resurvey of
public lands, in addition to the portion of such appropriation otherwise allowed by law for
resurveys and retracements. Similar resurveys and retracements may be made on the application,
accompanied by the requisite deposit, of any court of competent jurisdiction, the returns of such
resurvey or retracement to be submitted to the court. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized
to make all necessary rules and regulations to carry this section into full force and effect.
43 U.S.C. §774. Protection of surveyor by marshal. Whenever the President is satisfied that
forcible opposition has been offered, or is likely to be offered, to any surveyor or deputy
surveyor in the discharge of his duties in surveying the public lands, it may be lawful for the
President to order the marshal of the State or district, by himself or deputy, to attend such
surveyor or deputy surveyor with sufficient force to protect such officer in the execution of his
duty, and to remove force should any be offered.
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F. RESERVATIONS AND GRANTS TO STATES FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES
43 U.S.C. §852. Selections to supply deficiencies of school lands.
(a) Restrictions
The lands appropriated by section 851 of this title shall be selected from any unappropriated,
surveyed or unsurveyed public lands within the State where such losses or deficiencies occur
subject to the following restrictions:
(1) No lands mineral in character may be selected by a State except to the extent that the
selection is being made as indemnity for mineral lands lost to the State because of appropriation
before title could pass to the State;
(2) No lands on a known geologic structure of a producing oil or gas field may be selected
except to the extent that the selection is being made as indemnity for lands on such a structure
lost to the State because of appropriation before title could pass to the State; and
(3) Land subject to a mineral lease or permit may be selected if none of the land subject to
that lease or permit is in a producing or producible status, subject, however, to the restrictions
and conditions of the preceding and following paragraphs of this subsection.
(4) If a selection is consummated as to a portion but not all of the lands subject to any
mineral lease or permit, then, as to such portion and for so long only as such lease or permit or
any lease issued pursuant to such permit shall remain in effect, there shall be automatically
reserved to the United States the mineral or minerals for which the lease or permit was issued,
together with such further rights as may be necessary for the full and complete enjoyment of all
rights, privileges and benefits under or with respect to the lease or permit: Provided, however,
That after approval of the selection the Secretary of the Interior shall determine what portion of
any rents and royalties accruing thereafter which may be paid under the lease or permit is
properly applicable to that portion of the land subject to the lease or permit selected by the State,
the portion applicable being determined by applying to the sum of the rents and royalties the
same ratio as that existing between the acreage selected by the State and the total acreage subject
to the lease or permit; of the portion applicable to the selected land 90 per centum shall be paid
to the State by the United States annually and 10 per centum shall be deposited in the Treasury of
the United States as miscellaneous receipts.
(5) If a selection is consummated as to all of the lands subject to any mineral lease or
permit or if, where the selecting State has previously acquired title to a portion of the lands
subject to a mineral lease or permit, a selection is consummated as to all of the remaining lands
subject to that lease or permit, then and upon condition that the United States shall retain all rents
and royalties theretofore paid and that the lessee or permittee shall have and may enjoy under
and with respect to that lease or permit all the rights, privileges, and benefits which he would
have had or might have enjoyed had the selection not been made and approved, the State shall
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succeed to all the rights of the United States under the lease or permit as to the mineral or
minerals covered thereby, subject, however, to all obligations of the United States under and
with respect to that lease or permit.
(b) Adjustments
Where the selections are to compensate for deficiencies of school lands in fractional townships,
such selections shall be made in accordance with the following principles of adjustment, to wit:
For each township, or fractional township, containing a greater quantity of land than three-
quarters of an entire township, one section; for a fractional township, containing a greater
quantity of land than one-half, and not more than three-quarters of a township, three-quarters of a
section; for a fractional township, containing a greater quantity of land than one-quarter, and not
more than one-half of a township, one-half section; and for a fractional township containing a
greater quantity of land than one entire section, and not more than one-quarter of a township,
one-quarter section of land: Provided, That the States which are, or shall be entitled to both the
sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections in place, shall have the right to select double the amounts
named, to compensate for deficiencies of school land in fractional townships.
(c) Preference rights for State
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 282 of this title on the revocation not later than 10
years after the date of approval of this Act, of any order of withdrawal, in whole or in part, the
order or notice taking such action shall provide for a period of not less than six months before the
date on which it otherwise becomes effective in which the State in which the lands are situated
shall have a preferred right of application for selection under this section, subject to the
requirements of existing law, except as against the prior existing valid settlement rights and
preference rights conferred by existing law other than section 282 of this title, or as against
equitable claims subject to allowance and confirmation, and except where a revocation of an
order of withdrawal is made in order to assist in a Federal land program.
(d) "Unappropriated public lands" defined; determination of mineral character of
land
(1) The term "unappropriated public lands" as used in this section shall include, without
otherwise affecting the meaning thereof, lands withdrawn for coal, phosphate, nitrate, potash, oil,
gas, asphaltic minerals, oil shale, sodium, and sulphur, but otherwise subject to appropriation,
location, selection, entry, or purchase under the nonmineral laws of the United States; lands
withdrawn by Executive Order Numbered 5327, of April 15, 1930, if otherwise available for
selection; and the retained or reserved interest of the United States in lands which have been
disposed of with a reservation to the United States of all minerals or any specified mineral or
minerals.
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(2) The determination, for the purposes of this section of the mineral character of lands lost
to a State shall be made as of the date of application for selection and upon the basis of the best
evidence available at that time.
43 U.S.C. §852a. Applications for unsurveyed lands; regulations; acreage requirements.
The Secretary of the Interior may issue regulations governing applications for unsurveyed lands.
If he establishes any minimum acreage requirements, they shall provide for selection of tracts of
reasonable size, taking into consideration location, terrain, and adjacent land ownership and uses.
43 U.S.C. §852b. Survey of lands prior to transfer; time for survey; availability of funds;
lands suitable for transfer. Prior to issuance of an instrument of transfer, lands must be
surveyed. The Secretary of the Interior shall within five years, subject to the availability of
funds, survey the exterior boundaries of lands approved as suitable for transfer to the State.
G. RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND OTHER EASEMENTS IN PUBLIC LANDS
43 U.S.C. §931. Navigable rivers as public highways. All navigable rivers, within the
territory occupied by the public lands, shall remain and be deemed public highways; and, in all
cases where the opposite banks of any streams not navigable belong to different persons, the
stream and the bed thereof shall become common to both.
43 U.S.C. §931a. Authority of Attorney General to grant easements and rights-of-way to
States, etc. The Attorney General, whenever he deems it advantageous to the Government and
upon such terms and conditions as he deems advisable, is authorized on behalf of the United
States to grant to any State, or any agency or political subdivision thereof, easements in and
rights-of-way over lands belonging to the United States which are under his supervision and
control. Such grant may include the use of such easements or rights-of-way by public utilities to
the extent authorized and under the condition imposed by the laws of such State relating to use of
public highways. Such partial, concurrent, or exclusive jurisdiction over the areas covered by
such easements or rights-of-way, as the Attorney General deems necessary or desirable, is ceded
to such State. The Attorney General is authorized to accept or secure on behalf of the United
States from the State in which is situated any land conveyed in exchange for any such easement
or right-of-way, such jurisdiction as he may deem necessary or desirable over the land so
acquired.
43 U.S.C. §931c. Permits, leases, or easements; authorization to grant; payment;
limitation. The head of any department or agency of the Government of the United States
having jurisdiction over public lands and national forests, except national parks and monuments,
of the United States is authorized to grant permits, leases, or easements, in return for the payment
of a price representing the fair market value of such permit, lease, or easement, to be fixed by
such head of such department or agency through appraisal, for a period not to exceed thirty years
from the date of any such permit, lease, or easement to States, counties, cities, towns, townships,
municipal corporations, or other public agencies for the purpose of constructing and maintaining
on such lands public buildings or other public works. In the event such lands cease to be used
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for the purpose for which such permit, lease, or easement was granted, the same shall thereupon
terminate.
43 U.S.C. §931d. Additional authority of department or agency head. The authority
conferred by section 931c of this title shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of any
authority heretofore conferred upon the head of any department or agency of the Government of
the United States to grant permits, leases, easements, or rights-of-way.
43 U.S.C. §934. Right of way through public lands granted to railroads. The right of way
through the public lands of the United States is granted to any railroad company duly organized
under the laws of any State or Territory, except the District of Columbia, or by the Congress of
the United States, which shall have filed with the Secretary of the Interior a copy of its articles of
incorporation, and due proofs of its organization under the same, to the extent of one hundred
feet on each side of the central line of said road; also the right to take, from the public lands
adjacent to the line of said road, material, earth, stone, and timber necessary for the construction
of said railroad; also ground adjacent to such right of way for station buildings, depots, machine
shops, side tracks, turnouts, and water stations, not to exceed in amount twenty acres for each
station, to the extent of one station for each ten miles of its road.
H. GRANTS OF SWAMP AND OVERFLOWED LANDS
43 U.S.C. §981. Indemnity to States on sale of lands. Upon proof by the authorized agent of
the State, before the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate, that any of the
lands purchased by any person from the United States, prior to March 2, 1855, were "swamp
lands," within the true intent and meaning of the act entitled "An Act to enable the State of
Arkansas and other States to reclaim the swamp lands within their limits," approved September
28, 1850, the purchase-money shall be paid over to the State wherein said land is situate; and
when the lands have been located by warrant or scrip, the said State shall be authorized to locate
a like quantity of any of the public lands subject to entry, at $1.25 per acre, or less, and patents
shall issue therefor. The decision of the Secretary or such officer shall be first approved by the
Secretary of the Interior.
43 U.S.C. §982. Grant to States to aid in construction of levees and drains. To enable the
several States (but not including the States of Kansas, Nebraska, and Nevada) to construct the
necessary levees and drains, to reclaim the swamp and overflowed lands therein -- the whole of
the swamp and overflowed lands, made unfit thereby for cultivation, and remaining unsold on or
after the 28th day of September, A.D. 1850, are granted and belong to the several States
respectively, in which said lands are situated: Provided, however, That said grant of swamp and
overflowed lands, as to the States of California, Minnesota, and Oregon, is subject to the
limitations, restrictions and conditions hereinafter named and specified in this chapter, as
applicable to said three last-named States respectively.
43 U.S.C. §983. Lists and plats of lands, for governors of States. It shall be the duty of the
Secretary of the Interior, to make accurate lists and plats of all such lands, and transmit the same
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to the governors of the several States in which such lands may lie, and at the request of the
governor of any State in which said swamp and overflowed lands may be, to cause patents to be
issued to said State therefor, conveying to said State the fee simple of said land.
The proceeds of said lands, whether from sale or by direct appropriation in kind, shall be applied
exclusively, as far as necessary, to the reclaiming said lands, by means of levees and drains.
43 U.S.C. §984. Legal subdivisions mostly wet and unfit for cultivation. In making out lists
and plats of the lands aforesaid all legal subdivisions, the greater part whereof is wet and unfit
for cultivation, shall be included in said lists and plats, but when the greater part of a subdivision
is not of that character, the whole of it shall be excluded therefrom.
43 U.S.C. §986. Selection of lands confirmed. All land selected and reported to the General
Land Office as swamp and overflowed land by the several States entitled to the provisions of
said Act of September 28, 1850, prior to March 3, A.D. 1857, are confirmed to said States
respectively so far as the same remained vacant and unappropriated and not interfered with by an
actual settlement under any law of the United States.
43 U.S.C. §993. Sale of lands in Louisiana; preference rights; application for purchase;
appraisal; payment for land. The Secretary of the Interior, in his judgment and discretion, is
hereby authorized to sell, in the manner hereinafter provided, in this section, any of those lands
situated in the State of Louisiana which were originally erroneously meandered and shown upon
the official plats as water-covered areas, and which are not lawfully appropriated by a qualified
settler or entryman claiming under the public land laws.
Any citizen of the United States who, or whose ancestors in title in good faith under color of title
or claiming as a riparian owner, prior to February 19, 1925, placed valuable improvements upon
or reduced to cultivation any of the lands subject to the operation of this section, shall have a
preferred right to file in the office of the officer, as the Secretary of the Interior may designate, of
the United States land office of the district in which the lands are situated, an application to
purchase the lands thus improved by them at any time within ninety days from February 19,
1925, if the lands have been surveyed and plats filed in the United States land office; otherwise
within ninety days from official notice to such claimant of the filing of such plats. Every such
application must be accompanied with satisfactory proof that the applicant is entitled to such
preference right and that the lands which he applies to purchase are not in the legal possession of
an adverse claimant or in the actual possession of a person or persons who have improved the
property and who have attempted to enter same in compliance with the laws and regulations of
the United States land office.
Upon the filing of an application to purchase any lands subject to the operation of this section,
together with the required proof, the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the lands described in
said application to be appraised, said appraisal to be on the basis of the value of such lands at the
date of appraisal, exclusive of any increased value resulting from the development or
improvement thereof for agricultural purposes by the applicant or his predecessor in interest, but
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inclusive of the stumpage value of any timber cut or removed by the applicant or his predecessor
in interest.
An applicant who applies to purchase lands under the provisions of this section, in order to be
entitled to receive a patent, must within six months from receipt of notice of appraisal by the
Secretary of the Interior pay to the officer, as the Secretary of the Interior may designate, of the
United States land office of the district in which the lands are situated, the appraised price of the
lands, and thereupon a patent shall issue to said applicant for such lands as the Secretary of the
Interior shall determine that such applicant is entitled to purchase under this section. The
proceeds derived by the Government from the sale of the lands hereunder shall be covered into
the United States Treasury and applied as provided by law for the disposal of the proceeds from
the sale of public lands.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to prescribe all necessary rules and regulations for
administering the provisions of this section and determining conflicting claims arising hereunder.
All purchases made and patents issued under the provisions of this section shall be subject to and
contain a reservation to the United States of all the coal, oil, gas, and other minerals in the lands
so purchased and patented, together with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the same.
I. SUBMERGED LANDS
GENERAL PROVISIONS
43 U.S.C. §1301. Definitions. When used in this subchapter and subchapter II of this chapter --
(a) The term "lands beneath navigable waters" means --
(1) all lands within the boundaries of each of the respective States which are covered by
nontidal waters that were navigable under the laws of the United States at the time such State
became a member of the Union, or acquired sovereignty over such lands and waters thereafter,
up to the ordinary high water mark as heretofore or hereafter modified by accretion, erosion, and
reliction;
(2) all lands permanently or periodically covered by tidal waters up to but not above the
line of mean high tide and seaward to a line three geographical miles distant from the coast line
of each such State and to the boundary line of each such State where in any case such boundary
as it existed at the time such State became a member of the Union, or as heretofore approved by
Congress, extends seaward (or into the Gulf of Mexico) beyond three geographical miles, and
(3) all filled in, made, or reclaimed lands which formerly were lands beneath navigable
waters, as hereinabove defined;
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(b) The term "boundaries" includes the seaward boundaries of a State or its boundaries in
the Gulf of Mexico or any of the Great Lakes as they existed at the time such State became a
member of the Union, or as heretofore approved by the Congress, or as extended or confirmed
pursuant to section 1312 of this title but in no event shall the term "boundaries" or the term
"lands beneath navigable waters" be interpreted as extending from the coast line more than three
geographical miles into the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean, or more than three marine
leagues into the Gulf of Mexico, except that any boundary between a State and the United States
under this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter which has been or is hereafter fixed by
coordinates under a final decree of the United States Supreme Court shall remain immobilized at
the coordinates provided under such decree and shall not be ambulatory;
(c) The term "coast line" means the line of ordinary low water along that portion of the
coast which is in direct contact with the open sea and the line marking the seaward limit of
inland waters;
(d) The terms "grantees" and "lessees" include (without limiting the generality thereof) all
political subdivisions, municipalities, public and private corporations, and other persons holding
grants or leases from a State, or from its predecessor sovereign if legally validated, to lands
beneath navigable waters if such grants or leases were issued in accordance with the constitution,
statutes, and decisions of the courts of the State in which such lands are situated, or of its
predecessor sovereign: Provided, however, That nothing herein shall be construed as conferring
upon said grantees or lessees any greater rights or interests other than are described herein and in
their respective grants from the State, or its predecessor sovereign;
(e) The term "natural resources" includes, without limiting the generality thereof, oil, gas,
and all other minerals, and fish, shrimp, oysters, clams, crabs, lobsters, sponges, kelp, and other
marine animal and plant life but does not include water power, or the use of water for the
production of power;
(f) The term "lands beneath navigable waters" does not include the beds of streams in
lands now or heretofore constituting a part of the public lands of the United States if such
streams were not meandered in connection with the public survey of such lands under the laws of
the United States and if the title to the beds of such streams was lawfully patented or conveyed
by the United States or any State to any person;
(g) The term "State" means any State of the Union;
(h) The term "person" includes, in addition to a natural person, an association, a State, a
political subdivision of a State, or a private, public, or municipal corporation.
43 U.S.C. §1302. Resources seaward of Continental Shelf. Nothing in this subchapter or
subchapter II of this chapter shall be deemed to affect in any wise the rights of the United States
to the natural resources of that portion of the subsoil and seabed of the Continental Shelf lying
seaward and outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters, as defined in section 1301 of
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this title, all of which natural resources appertain to the United States, and the jurisdiction and
control of which by the United States is confirmed.
43 U.S.C. §1303. Amendment, modification, or repeal of other laws. Nothing in this
subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter shall be deemed to amend, modify, or repeal the Acts
of July 26, 1866 (14 Stat. 251), July 9, 1870 (16 Stat. 217), March 3, 1877 (19 Stat. 377), June
17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and December 22, 1944 (58 Stat. 887), and Acts amendatory thereof or
supplementary thereto.
LANDS BENEATH NAVIGABLE WATERS WITHIN STATE BOUNDARIES
43 U.S.C. §1311. Rights of States.
(a) Confirmation and establishment of title and ownership of lands and resources;
management, administration, leasing, development, and use
It is determined and declared to be in the public interest that (1) title to and ownership of the
lands beneath navigable waters within the boundaries of the respective States, and the natural
resources within such lands and waters, and (2) the right and power to manage, administer, lease,
develop, and use the said lands and natural resources all in accordance with applicable State law
be, and they are, subject to the provisions hereof, recognized, confirmed, established, and vested
in and assigned to the respective States or the persons who were on June 5, 1950, entitled thereto
under the law of the respective States in which the land is located, and the respective grantees,
lessees, or successors in interest thereof;
(b) Release and relinquishment of title and claims of United States; payment to States
of moneys paid under leases
(1) The United States releases and relinquishes unto said States and persons aforesaid,
except as otherwise reserved herein, all right, title, and interest of the United States, if any it has,
in and to all said lands, improvements, and natural resources; (2) the United States releases and
relinquishes all claims of the United States, if any it has, for money or damages arising out of
any operations of said States or persons pursuant to State authority upon or within said lands and
navigable waters; and (3) the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of the Navy or the
Treasurer of the United States shall pay to the respective States or their grantees issuing leases
covering such lands or natural resources all moneys paid thereunder to the Secretary of the
Interior or to the Secretary of the Navy or to the Treasurer of the United States and subject to the
control of any of them or to the control of the United States on May 22, 1953, except that portion
of such moneys which (1) is required to be returned to a lessee; or (2) is deductible as provided
by stipulation or agreement between the United States and any of said States;
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(c) Leases in effect on June 5, 1950
The rights, powers, and titles hereby recognized, confirmed, established, and vested in and
assigned to the respective States and their grantees are subject to each lease executed by a State,
or its grantee, which was in force and effect on June 5, 1950, in accordance with its terms and
provisions and the laws of the State issuing, or whose grantee issued, such lease, and such rights,
powers, and titles are further subject to the rights herein now granted to any person holding any
such lease to continue to maintain the lease, and to conduct operations thereunder, in accordance
with its provisions, for the full term thereof, and any extensions, renewals, or replacements
authorized therein, or heretofore authorized by the laws of the State issuing, or whose grantee
issued such lease: Provided, however, That, if oil or gas was not being produced from such lease
on and before December 11, 1950, or if the primary term of such lease has expired since
December 11, 1950, then for a term from May 22, 1953 equal to the term remaining unexpired
on December 11, 1950, under the provisions of such lease or any extensions, renewals, or
replacements authorized therein, or heretofore authorized by the laws of the State issuing, or
whose grantee issued, such lease: Provided, however, That within ninety days from May 22,
1953 (i) the lessee shall pay to the State or its grantee issuing such lease all rents, royalties, and
other sums payable between June 5, 1950, and May 22,1953, under such lease and the laws of
the State issuing or whose grantee issued such lease, except such rents, royalties, and other sums
as have been paid to the State, its grantee, the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of the
Navy or the Treasurer of the United States and not refunded to the lessee; and (ii) the lessee shall
file with the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of the Navy and with the State issuing or
whose grantee issued such lease, instruments consenting to the payment by the Secretary of the
Interior or the Secretary of the Navy or the Treasurer of the United States to the State or its
grantee issuing the lease, of all rents, royalties, and other payments under the control of the
Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of the Navy or the Treasurer of the United States or the
United States which have been paid, under the lease, except such rentals, royalties, and other
payments as have also been paid by the lessee to the State or its grantee;
(d) Authority and rights of the United States respecting navigation, flood control and
production of power
Nothing in this subchapter or subchapter I of this chapter shall affect the use, development,
improvement, or control by or under the constitutional authority of the United States of said
lands and waters for the purposes of navigation or flood control or the production of power, or be
construed as the release or relinquishment of any rights of the United States arising under the
constitutional authority of Congress to regulate or improve navigation, or to provide for flood
control, or the production of power;
(e) Ground and surface waters west of the 98th meridian
Nothing in this subchapter or subchapter I of this chapter shall be construed as affecting or
intended to affect or in any way interfere with or modify the laws of the States which lie wholly
or in part westward of the ninety-eighth meridian, relating to the ownership and control of
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ground and surface waters; and the control, appropriation, use, and distribution of such waters
shall continue to be in accordance with the laws of such States.
43 U.S.C. §1312. Seaward boundaries of States. The seaward boundary of each original
coastal State is approved and confirmed as a line three geographical miles distant from its coast
line or, in the case of the Great Lakes, to the international boundary. Any State admitted
subsequent to the formation of the Union which has not already done so may extend its seaward
boundaries to a line three geographical miles distant from its coast line, or to the international
boundaries of the United States in the Great Lakes or any other body of water traversed by such
boundaries. Any claim heretofore or hereafter asserted either by constitutional provision, statute,
or otherwise, indicating the intent of a State so to extend its boundaries is approved and
confirmed, without prejudice to its claim, if any it has, that its boundaries extend beyond that
line. Nothing in this section is to be construed as questioning or in any manner prejudicing the
existence of any State’s seaward boundary beyond three geographical miles if it was so provided
by its constitution or laws prior to or at the time such State became a member of the Union, or if
it has been heretofore approved by Congress.
43 U.S.C. §1313. Exceptions from operation of section 1311 of this title. There is excepted
from the operation of section 1311 of this title --
(a) all tracts or parcels of land together with all accretions thereto, resources therein, or
improvements thereon, title to which has been lawfully and expressly acquired by the United
States from any State or from any person in whom title had vested under the law of the State or
of the United States, and all lands which the United States lawfully holds under the law of the
State; all lands expressly retained by or ceded to the United States when the State entered the
Union (otherwise than by a general retention or cession of lands underlying the marginal sea); all
lands acquired by the United States by eminent domain proceedings, purchase, cession, gift, or
otherwise in a proprietary capacity; all lands filled in, built up, or otherwise reclaimed by the
United States for its own use; and any rights the United States has in lands presently and actually
occupied by the United States under claim of right;
(b) such lands beneath navigable waters held, or any interest in which is held by the United
States for the benefit of any tribe, band, or group of Indians or for individual Indians; and
(c) all structures and improvements constructed by the United States in the exercise of its
navigational servitude.
43 U.S.C. §1314. Rights and powers retained by United States; purchase of natural
resources; condemnation of lands.
(a) The United States retains all its navigational servitude and rights in and powers of
regulation and control of said lands and navigable waters for the constitutional purposes of
commerce, navigation, national defense, and international affairs, all of which shall be
paramount to, but shall not be deemed to include, proprietary rights of ownership, or the rights of
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management, administration, leasing, use, and development of the lands and natural resources
which are specifically recognized, confirmed, established, and vested in and assigned to the
respective States and others by section 1311 of this title.
(b) In time of war or when necessary for national defense, and the Congress or the
President shall so prescribe, the United States shall have the right of first refusal to purchase at
the prevailing market price, all or any portion of the said natural resources, or to acquire and use
any portion of said lands by proceeding in accordance with due process of law and paying just
compensation therefor.
43 U.S.C. §1315. Rights acquired under laws of United States unaffected. Nothing
contained in this subchapter or subchapter I of this chapter shall affect such rights, if any, as may
have been acquired under any law of the United States by any person in lands subject to this
subchapter or subchapter I of this chapter and such rights, if any, shall be governed by the law in
effect at the time they may have been acquired: Provided, however, That nothing contained in
this subchapter or subchapter I of this chapter is intended or shall be construed as a finding,
interpretation, or construction by the Congress that the law under which such rights may be
claimed in fact or in law applies to the lands subject to this subchapter or subchapter I of this
chapter, or authorizes or compels the granting of such rights in such lands, and that the
determination of the applicability or effect of such law shall be unaffected by anything contained
in this subchapter or subchapter I of this chapter.
OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS
43 U.S.C. §1331. Definitions. When used in this subchapter –
(a) The term "outer Continental Shelf" means all submerged lands lying seaward and
outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters as defined in section 1301 of this title, and
of which the subsoil and seabed appertain to the United States and are subject to its jurisdiction
and control;
(b) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior, except that with respect to
functions under this subchapter transferred to, or vested in, the Secretary of Energy or the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by or pursuant to the Department of Energy
Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Energy,
or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as the case may be;
(c) The term "lease" means any form of authorization which is issued under section 1337
of this title or maintained under section 1335 of this title and which authorizes exploration for,
and development and production of, minerals;
(d) The term "person" includes, in addition to a natural person, an association, a State, a
political subdivision of a State, or a private, public, or municipal corporation;
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(e) The term "coastal zone" means the coastal waters (including the lands therein and
thereunder) and the adjacent shorelands (including the waters therein and thereunder), strongly
influenced by each other and in proximity to the shorelines of the several coastal States, and
includes islands, transition and intertidal areas, salt marshes, wetlands, and beaches, which zone
extends seaward to the outer limit of the United States territorial sea and extends inland from the
shorelines to the extent necessary to control shorelands, the uses of which have a direct and
significant impact on the coastal waters, and the inward boundaries of which may be identified
by the several coastal States, pursuant to the authority of section 1454(b)(1) of Title 16;
(f) The term "affected State" means, with respect to any program, plan, lease sale, or other
activity, proposed, conducted, or approved pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter, any
State –
(1) the laws of which are declared, pursuant to section 1333(a)(2) of this title, to be the law
of the United States for the portion of the outer Continental Shelf on which such activity is, or is
proposed to be, conducted;
(2) which is, or is proposed to be, directly connected by transportation facilities to any
artificial island or structure referred to in section 1333(a)(1) of this title;
(3) which is receiving, or in accordance with the proposed activity will receive, oil for
processing, refining, or transshipment which was extracted from the outer Continental Shelf and
transported directly to such State by means of vessels or by a combination of means including
vessels;
(5) which is designated by the Secretary as a State in which there is a substantial
probability of significant impact on or damage to the coastal, marine, or human environment, or
a State in which there will be significant changes in the social, governmental, or economic
infrastructure, resulting from the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas
anywhere on the outer Continental Shelf; or
(6) in which the Secretary finds that because of such activity there is, or will be, a
significant risk of serious damage, due to factors such as prevailing winds and currents, to the
marine or coastal environment in the event of any oilspill, blowout, or release of oil or gas from
vessels, pipelines, or other transshipment facilities;
(g) The term "marine environment" means the physical, atmospheric, and biological
components, conditions, and factors which interactively determine the productivity, state,
condition, and quality of the marine ecosystem, including the waters of the high seas, the
contiguous zone, transitional and intertidal areas, salt marshes, and wetlands within the coastal
zone and on the outer Continental Shelf;
(h) The term "coastal environment" means the physical atmospheric, and biological
components, conditions, and factors which interactively determine the productivity, state,
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condition, and quality of the terrestrial ecosystem from the shoreline inward to the boundaries of
the coastal zone;
(i) The term "human environment" means the physical, social, and economic components,
conditions, and factors which interactively determine the state, condition, and quality of living
conditions, employment, and health of those affected directly or indirectly, by activities
occurring on the outer Continental Shelf;
(j) The term "Governor" means the Governor of a State, or the person or entity designated
by, or pursuant to, State law to exercise the powers granted to such Governor pursuant to this
subchapter;
(k) The term "exploration" means the process of searching for minerals, including (1)
geophysical surveys where magnetic, gravity, seismic, or other systems are used to detect or
imply the presence of such minerals, and (2) any drilling, whether on or off known geological
structures, including the drilling of a well in which a discovery of oil or natural gas in paying
quantities is made and the drilling of any additional delineation well after such discovery which
is needed to delineate any reservoir and to enable the lessee to determine whether to proceed
with development and production;
(l) The term "development" means those activities which take place following discovery of
minerals in paying quantities, including geophysical activity, drilling, platform construction, and
operation of all onshore support facilities, and which are for the purpose of ultimately producing
the minerals discovered;
(m) The term "production" means those activities which take place after the successful
completion of any means for the removal of minerals, including such removal, field operations,
transfer of minerals to shore, operation monitoring, maintenance, and work-over drilling;
(n) The term "antitrust law" means --
(1) the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.);
(2) the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.);
(3) the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.);
(4) the Wilson Tariff Act (15 U.S.C. 8 et seq.); or
(5) the Act of June 19, 1936, chapter 592 (15 U.S.C. 13, 13a, 13b, and 21a);
(o) The term "fair market value" means the value of any mineral (1) computed at a unit
price equivalent to the average unit price at which such mineral was sold pursuant to a lease
during the period for which any royalty or net profit share is accrued or reserved to the United
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States pursuant to such lease, or (2) if there were no such sales, or if the Secretary finds that there
were an insufficient number of such sales to equitably determine such value, computed at the
average unit price at which such mineral was sold pursuant to other leases in the same region of
the outer Continental Shelf during such period, or (3) if there were no sales of such mineral from
such region during such period, or if the Secretary finds that there are an insufficient number of
such sales to equitably determine such value, at an appropriate price determined by the
Secretary;
(p) The term "major Federal action" means any action or proposal by the Secretary which
is subject to the provisions of section 4332(2)(C) of Title 42; and
(q) The term "minerals" includes oil, gas, sulphur, geopressured-geothermal and associated
resources, and all other minerals which are authorized by an Act of Congress to be produced
from "public lands" as defined in section 1702 of this title.
43 U.S.C. §1332. Congressional declaration of policy. It is hereby declared to be the policy of
the United States that --
(1) the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf appertain to the United States and
are subject to its jurisdiction, control, and power of disposition as provided in this subchapter;
(2) this subchapter shall be construed in such a manner that the character of the waters
above the outer Continental Shelf as high seas and the right to navigation and fishing therein
shall not be affected;
(3) the outer Continental Shelf is a vital national resource reserve held by the Federal
Government for the public, which should be made available for expeditious and orderly
development, subject to environmental safeguards, in a manner which is consistent with the
maintenance of competition and other national needs;
(4) since exploration, development, and production of the minerals of the outer Continental
Shelf will have significant impacts on coastal and non-coastal areas of the coastal States, and on
other affected States, and, in recognition of the national interest in the effective management of
the marine, coastal, and human environments --
(A) such States and their affected local governments may require assistance in protecting
their coastal zones and other affected areas from any temporary or permanent adverse effects of
such impacts;
(B) the distribution of a portion of the receipts from the leasing of mineral resources of the
outer Continental Shelf adjacent to State lands, as provided under section 1337(g) of this title,
will provide affected coastal States and localities with funds which may be used for the
mitigation of adverse economic and environmental effects related to the development of such
resources; and
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(C) such States, and through such States, affected local governments, are entitled to an
opportunity to participate, to the extent consistent with the national interest, in the policy and
planning decisions made by the Federal Government relating to exploration for, and
development and production of, minerals of the outer Continental Shelf;
(5) the rights and responsibilities of all States and, where appropriate, local governments,
to preserve and protect their marine, human, and coastal environments through such means as
regulation of land, air, and water uses, of safety, and of related development and activity should
be considered and recognized; and
(6) operations in the outer Continental Shelf should be conducted in a safe manner by
well-trained personnel using technology, precautions, and techniques sufficient to prevent or
minimize the likelihood of blowouts, loss of well control, fires, spillages, physical obstruction to
other users of the waters or subsoil and seabed, or other occurrences which may cause damage to
the environment or to property, or endanger life or health.
43 U.S.C. §1333. Laws and regulations governing lands.
(a) Constitution and United States laws; laws of adjacent States; publication of
projected State lines; international boundary disputes; restriction on State taxation and
jurisdiction
(1) The Constitution and laws and civil and political jurisdiction of the United States are
extended to the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf and to all artificial islands, and
all installations and other devices permanently or temporarily attached to the seabed, which may
be erected thereon for the purpose of exploring for, developing, or producing resources
therefrom, or any such installation or other device (other than a ship or vessel) for the purpose of
transporting such resources, to the same extent as if the outer Continental Shelf were an area of
exclusive Federal jurisdiction located within a State: Provided, however, That mineral leases on
the outer Continental Shelf shall be maintained or issued only under the provisions of this
subchapter.
(2)(A) To the extent that they are applicable and not inconsistent with this subchapter or
with other Federal laws and regulations of the Secretary now in effect or hereafter adopted, the
civil and criminal laws of each adjacent State, now in effect or hereafter adopted, amended, or
repealed are declared to be the law of the United States for that portion of the subsoil and seabed
of the outer Continental Shelf, and artificial islands and fixed structures erected thereon, which
would be within the area of the State if its boundaries were extended seaward to the outer margin
of the outer Continental Shelf, and the President shall determine and publish in the Federal
Register such projected lines extending seaward and defining each such area. All of such
applicable laws shall be administered and enforced by the appropriate officers and courts of the
United States. State taxation laws shall not apply to the outer Continental Shelf.
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(B) Within one year after September 18, 1978, the President shall establish procedures for
settling any outstanding international boundary dispute respecting the outer Continental Shelf.
(3) The provisions of this section for adoption of State law as the law of the United States
shall never be interpreted as a basis for claiming any interest in or jurisdiction on behalf of any
State for any purpose over the seabed and subsoil of the outer Continental Shelf, or the property
and natural resources thereof or the revenues therefrom.
(b) Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act applicable; definitions
With respect to disability or death of an employee resulting from any injury occurring as the
result of operations conducted on the outer Continental Shelf for the purpose of exploring for,
developing, removing, or transporting by pipeline the natural resources, or involving rights to the
natural resources, of the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf, compensation shall be
payable under the provisions of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act [33
U.S.C.A. § 901 et seq.]. For the purposes of the extension of the provisions of the Longshore
and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act under this section --
(1) the term "employee" does not include a master or member of a crew of any vessel, or
an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof or of any State or foreign
government, or of any political subdivision thereof;
(2) the term "employer" means an employer any of whose employees are employed in such
operations; and
(3) the term "United States" when used in a geographical sense includes the outer
Continental Shelf and artificial islands and fixed structures thereon.
(c) National Labor Relations Act applicable
For the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended [29 U.S.C.A. § 151 et seq.],
any unfair labor practice, as defined in such Act, occurring upon any artificial island, installation,
or other device referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed to have occurred
within the judicial district of the State, the laws of which apply to such artificial island,
installation, or other device pursuant to such subsection, except that until the President
determines the areas within which such State laws are applicable, the judicial district shall be that
of the State nearest the place of location of such artificial island, installation, or other device.
(d) Coast Guard regulations; marking of artificial islands, installations, and other
devices; failure of owner suitably to mark according to regulations
(1) The Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall have
authority to promulgate and enforce such reasonable regulations with respect to lights and other
warning devices, safety equipment, and other matters relating to the promotion of safety of life
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and property on the artificial islands, installations, and other devices referred to in subsection (a)
of this section or on the waters adjacent thereto, as he may deem necessary.
(2) The Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating may mark for
the protection of navigation any artificial island, installation, or other device referred to in
subsection (a) of this section whenever the owner has failed suitably to mark such island,
installation, or other device in accordance with regulations issued under this subchapter, and the
owner shall pay the cost of such marking.
(e) Authority of Secretary of the Army to prevent obstruction to navigation
The authority of the Secretary of the Army to prevent obstruction to navigation in the navigable
waters of the United States is extended to the artificial islands, installations, and other devices
referred to in subsection (a) of this section.
(f) Provisions as nonexclusive
The specific application by this section of certain provisions of law to the subsoil and seabed of
the outer Continental Shelf and the artificial islands, installations, and other devices referred to in
subsection (a) of this section or to acts or offenses occurring or committed thereon shall not give
rise to any inference that the application to such islands and structures, acts, or offenses of any
other provision of law is not intended.
43 U.S.C. §1334. Administration of leasing.
(a) Rules and regulations; amendment; cooperation with State agencies; subject
matter and scope of regulations
The Secretary shall administer the provisions of this subchapter relating to the leasing of the
outer Continental Shelf, and shall prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to
carry out such provisions. The Secretary may at any time prescribe and amend such rules and
regulations as he determines to be necessary and proper in order to provide for the prevention of
waste and conservation of the natural resources of the outer Continental Shelf, and the protection
of correlative rights therein, and, notwithstanding any other provisions herein, such rules and
regulations shall, as of their effective date, apply to all operations conducted under a lease issued
or maintained under the provisions of this subchapter. In the enforcement of safety,
environmental, and conservation laws and regulations, the Secretary shall cooperate with the
relevant departments and agencies of the Federal Government and of the affected States. In the
formulation and promulgation of regulations, the Secretary shall request and give due
consideration to the views of the Attorney General with respect to matters which may affect
competition. In considering any regulations and in preparing any such views, the Attorney
General shall consult with the Federal Trade Commission. The regulations prescribed by the
Secretary under this subsection shall include, but not be limited to, provisions --
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(1) for the suspension or temporary prohibition of any operation or activity, including
production, pursuant to any lease or permit (A) at the request of a lessee, in the national interest,
to facilitate proper development of a lease or to allow for the construction or negotiation for use
of transportation facilities, or (B) if there is a threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate harm or
damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), to property, to any mineral deposits (in
areas leased or not leased), or to the marine, coastal, or human environment, and for the
extension of any permit or lease affected by suspension or prohibition under clause (A) or (B) by
a period equivalent to the period of such suspension or prohibition, except that no permit or lease
shall be so extended when such suspension or prohibition is the result of gross negligence or
willful violation of such lease or permit, or of regulations issued with respect to such lease or
permit;
(2) with respect to cancellation of any lease or permit --
(A) that such cancellation may occur at any time, if the Secretary determines, after a
hearing, that --
(i) continued activity pursuant to such lease or permit would probably cause serious harm
or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), to property, to any mineral (in areas
leased or not leased), to the national security or defense, or to the marine, coastal, or human
environment;
(ii) the threat of harm or damage will not disappear or decrease to an acceptable extent
within a reasonable period of time; and
(iii) the advantages of cancellation outweigh the advantages of continuing such lease or
permit in force;
(B) that such cancellation shall not occur unless and until operations under such lease or
permit shall have been under suspension, or temporary prohibition, by the Secretary, with due
extension of any lease or permit term continuously for a period of five years, or for a lesser
period upon request of the lessee;
(C) that such cancellation shall entitle the lessee to receive such compensation as he shows
to the Secretary as being equal to the lesser of (i) the fair value of the canceled rights as of the
date of cancellation, taking account of both anticipated revenues from the lease and anticipated
costs, including costs of compliance with all applicable regulations and operating orders, liability
for cleanup costs or damages, or both, in the case of an oilspill, and all other costs reasonably
anticipated on the lease, or (ii) the excess, if any, over the lessee’s revenues, from the lease (plus
interest thereon from the date of receipt to date of reimbursement) of all consideration paid for
the lease and all direct expenditures made by the lessee after the date of issuance of such lease
and in connection with exploration or development, or both, pursuant to the lease (plus interest
on such consideration and such expenditures from date of payment to date of reimbursement),
except that (I) with respect to leases issued before September 18, 1978, such compensation shall
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be equal to the amount specified in clause (i) of this subparagraph; and (II) in the case of joint
leases which are canceled due to the failure of one or more partners to exercise due diligence, the
innocent parties shall have the right to seek damages for such loss from the responsible party or
parties and the right to acquire the interests of the negligent party or parties and be issued the
lease in question;
(3) for the assignment or relinquishment of a lease;
(4) for unitization, pooling, and drilling agreements;
(5) for the subsurface storage of oil and gas from any source other than by the Federal
Government;
(6) for drilling or easements necessary for exploration, development, and production;
(7) for the prompt and efficient exploration and development of a lease area; and
(8) for compliance with the national ambient air quality standards pursuant to the Clean
Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), to the extent that activities authorized under this subchapter
significantly affect the air quality of any State.
(b) Compliance with regulations as condition for issuance, continuation, assignment,
or other transfer of leases
The issuance and continuance in effect of any lease, or of any assignment or other transfer of any
lease, under the provisions of this subchapter shall be conditioned upon compliance with
regulations issued under this subchapter.
(c) Cancellation of nonproducing lease
Whenever the owner of a nonproducing lease fails to comply with any of the provisions of this
subchapter, or of the lease, or of the regulations issued under this subchapter, such lease may be
canceled by the Secretary, subject to the right of judicial review as provided in this subchapter, if
such default continues for the period of thirty days after mailing of notice by registered letter to
the lease owner at his record post office address.
(d) Cancellation of producing lease
Whenever the owner of any producing lease fails to comply with any of the provisions of this
subchapter, of the lease, or of the regulations issued under this subchapter, such lease may be
forfeited and canceled by an appropriate proceeding in any United States district court having
jurisdiction under the provisions of this subchapter.
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(e) Pipeline rights-of-way; forfeiture of grant
Rights-of-way through the submerged lands of the outer Continental Shelf, whether or not such
lands are included in a lease maintained or issued pursuant to this subchapter, may be granted by
the Secretary for pipeline purposes for the transportation of oil, natural gas, sulphur, or other
minerals, or under such regulations and upon such conditions as may be prescribed by the
Secretary, or where appropriate the Secretary of Transportation, including (as provided in section
1347(b) of this title) assuring maximum environmental protection by utilization of the best
available and safest technologies, including the safest practices for pipeline burial and upon the
express condition that oil or gas pipelines shall transport or purchase without discrimination, oil
or natural gas produced from submerged lands or outer Continental Shelf lands in the vicinity of
the pipelines in such proportionate amounts as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in
consultation with the Secretary of Energy, may, after a full hearing with due notice thereof to the
interested parties, determine to be reasonable, taking into account, among other things,
conservation and the prevention of waste. Failure to comply with the provisions of this section
or the regulations and conditions prescribed under this section shall be ground for forfeiture of
the grant in an appropriate judicial proceeding instituted by the United States in any United
States district court having jurisdiction under the provisions of this subchapter.
(f) Competitive principles governing pipeline operation
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), every permit, license, easement, right-of-way, or
other grant of authority for the transportation by pipeline on or across the outer Continental Shelf
of oil or gas shall require that the pipeline be operated in accordance with the following
competitive principles:
(A) The pipeline must provide open and nondiscriminatory access to both owner and
nonowner shippers.
(B) Upon the specific request of one or more owner or nonowner shippers able to provide
a guaranteed level of throughput, and on the condition that the shipper or shippers requesting
such expansion shall be responsible for bearing their proportionate share of the costs and risks
related thereto, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may, upon finding, after a full
hearing with due notice thereof to the interested parties, that such expansion is within
technological limits and economic feasibility, order a subsequent expansion of throughput
capacity of any pipeline for which the permit, license, easement, right-of-way, or other grant of
authority is approved or issued after September 18, 1978. This subparagraph shall not apply to
any such grant of authority approved or issued for the Gulf of Mexico or the Santa Barbara
Channel.
(2) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may, by order or regulation, exempt from
any or all of the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection any pipeline or class of
pipelines which feeds into a facility where oil and gas are first collected or a facility where oil
and gas are first separated, dehydrated, or otherwise processed.
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(3) The Secretary of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall consult
with and give due consideration to the views of the Attorney General on specific conditions to be
included in any permit, license, easement, right-of-way, or grant of authority in order to ensure
that pipelines are operated in accordance with the competitive principles set forth in paragraph
(1) of this subsection. In preparing any such views, the Attorney General shall consult with the
Federal Trade Commission.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to limit, abridge, or modify any authority of
the United States under any other provision of law with respect to pipelines on or across the
outer Continental Shelf.
(g) Rates of production
(1) The lessee shall produce any oil or gas, or both, obtained pursuant to an approved
development and production plan, at rates consistent with any rule or order issued by the
President in accordance with any provision of law.
(2) If no rule or order referred to in paragraph (1) has been issued, the lessee shall produce
such oil or gas, or both, at rates consistent with any regulation promulgated by the Secretary of
Energy which is to assure the maximum rate of production which may be sustained without loss
of ultimate recovery of oil or gas, or both, under sound engineering and economic principles, and
which is safe for the duration of the activity covered by the approved plan. The Secretary may
permit the lessee to vary such rates if he finds that such variance is necessary.
(h) Federal action affecting outer Continental Shelf; notification; recommended
changes
The head of any Federal department or agency who takes any action which has a direct and
significant effect on the outer Continental Shelf or its development shall promptly notify the
Secretary of such action and the Secretary shall thereafter notify the Governor of any affected
State and the Secretary may thereafter recommend such changes in such action as are considered
appropriate.
(i) Flaring of natural gas
After September 18, 1978, no holder of any oil and gas lease issued or maintained pursuant to
this subchapter shall be permitted to flare natural gas from any well unless the Secretary finds
that there is no practicable way to complete production of such gas, or that such flaring is
necessary to alleviate a temporary emergency situation or to conduct testing or work-over
operations.
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(j) Cooperative development of common hydrocarbon-bearing areas
(1) Findings
(A) The Congress of the United States finds that the unrestrained competitive production
of hydrocarbons from a common hydrocarbon-bearing geological area underlying the Federal
and State boundary may result in a number of harmful national effects, including --
(i) the drilling of unnecessary wells, the installation of unnecessary facilities and other
imprudent operating practices that result in economic waste, environmental damage, and damage
to life and property;
(ii) the physical waste of hydrocarbons and an unnecessary reduction in the amounts of
hydrocarbons that can be produced from certain hydrocarbon-bearing areas; and
(iii) the loss of correlative rights which can result in the reduced value of national
hydrocarbon resources and disorders in the leasing of Federal and State resources.
(2) Prevention of harmful effects
The Secretary shall prevent, through the cooperative development of an area, the harmful effects
of unrestrained competitive production of hydrocarbons from a common hydrocarbon-bearing
area underlying the Federal and State boundary.
J. THE DOCTRINE OF THALWEG
The thalweg is the geographic middle of the main channel of a navigable waterway. As such,
thalweg can differ from the geographic middle of the waterway itself.
The Thalweg Rule was historically used to determine the boundary between states. The Rule
established the state boundary along the thalweg instead of along the geographic middle of the
waterway. However, several exceptions to the Thalweg Rule developed in the jurisprudence and
some state boundaries were instead fixed at the geographic middle of rivers. See Texas v.
Louisiana, 410 U.S. 702, 93 S.Ct. 1215, 35 L.Ed.2d 646 (1973).
V. RULES OF THE BOARD
LAC Title 46, Part LXI. Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. (available separately)
Commonly referred to as the "Rules of the Board”, are available separately. This document is
also posted on the Board’s website at http://www.lapels.com.
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STANDARDS OF PRACTICE FOR BOUNDARY SURVEYS
LAC Title 46:LXI§2901. Scope and Purpose.
A. The following standards of practice for boundary surveying in the state of Louisiana
have been adopted to help ensure that boundary surveys are performed in accordance with
acceptable procedures.
B. The purpose of these standards is to safeguard life, health and property, and to promote
the public welfare, by establishing technical standards of practice for every boundary survey
performed in the state of Louisiana so that professional performance can be evaluated for but not
limited to research, field work, monuments, descriptions, plats and maps. If higher standards are
required by clients, or by local, state and federal jurisdictions, then those standards shall govern.
When a boundary survey involves certain corners or lines that are covered under the appropriate
edition of the Manual of Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States, then
the Manual’s rules or instructions for these particular surveys shall apply. Every professional
land surveyor performing a boundary survey in the state of Louisiana is required to follow these
standards.
C. A boundary survey in this state shall only be performed by a professional land surveyor,
licensed pursuant to the laws of this state, or persons under his/her responsible charge. The
professional land surveyor shall at all times comply with the provisions of the licensure law and
the rules of the board.
D. It is intended that these standards of practice not be relied upon by the professional land
surveyor as a substitute for the exercise of proper individual skill, professional discretion, and
professional judgment in fulfilling the contractual requirements of any boundary survey. This
also does not absolve the professional land surveyor from his/her obligation to use due diligence
in the practice of land surveying and from complying with all applicable laws and rules
pertaining to the practice of land surveying.
E. When in the professional land surveyor's opinion, special conditions exist that
effectively prevent the boundary survey from meeting these standards of practice, the special
conditions and any necessary deviation from these standards shall be noted upon the drawing. It
shall be a violation of this Chapter to use special conditions to circumvent the intent and purpose
of these standards of practice.
LAC Title 46:LXI§2903. Definitions.
A. Any terms not specifically defined herein shall be as defined in the most current
publication of Definitions of Surveying and Associated Terms as published by the American
Congress on Surveying and Mapping. For the purpose of this Chapter, all the definitions listed
that differ from any other source are to be interpreted as written herein.
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Artificial Monuments―relatively permanent objects used to identify the location of a
corner. Artificial monuments shall retain a stable and distinctive location and shall be of
sufficient size and composition to resist the deteriorating forces of nature.
Client―the person with whom the contract for work is made. This may or may not be the
owner.
Corner―a point on a land boundary at which two or more boundary lines meet. It is not
the same as a monument, which refers to the physical evidence of the corner's location on the
ground.
Deed―an instrument in writing which, when executed and delivered, conveys an estate in
real property or interest therein.
Description, Legal―a written description usually contained in an act of conveyance,
judgment of possession, or recognized by law which definitely locates property by metes and
bounds or by reference to government surveys, coordinate systems or recorded maps; a
description which is sufficient to locate the property without oral testimony.
Description, Metes and Bounds―a description of a parcel of land by reference to course
and distances around the tract, or by reference to natural or artificial monuments.
Encroachment―any structure or obstruction which intrudes upon, invades or trespasses
upon the property of another.
May―when used means that a choice on the part of the professional land surveyor is
allowed.
Monument―a physical object or structure which marks the location of a corner or other
survey point. In public lands surveys, the term corner is employed to denote a point determined
by the surveying process, whereas the monument is the physical object installed, or structure
erected, to mark the corner point upon the earth's surface. Monument and corner are not
synonymous, though the two terms are often used in the same sense.
Natural Monuments―objects which are the works of nature, such as streams, rivers, ponds,
lakes, bays, trees, rock outcrops, and other definitive topographic features.
Positional Accuracy―the difference between the actual position of a monument and the
position as reported on the plat or map.
Positional Tolerance―the distance that any monument may be mislocated in relation to
any other monument cited in the survey.
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Prescription―title obtained in law by long possession. Occupancy for the period
prescribed by the Louisiana Civil Code, as sufficient to bar an action for the recovery of the
property, gives title by prescription.
Right of Way―any strip or area of land, including surface, overhead, or underground,
encumbered by a servitude. Rights are typically granted by deed for access or for construction,
operation and/or maintenance purposes, according to the terms of the grant.
Servitude―an interest held by one person in land of another whereby the first person is
accorded partial use of such land for a specific purpose. A servitude restricts but does not
abridge the rights of the fee owner to the use and enjoyment of his/her land. The term easement
is often used interchangeably with servitude and generally means the same thing.
Shall―the subject is imperative or mandatory and must be done by the professional land
surveyor.
Should―past tense of shall and used to express obligation, duty or desirability.
LAC Title 46:LXI§2905. Classification of Boundary Surveys.
A. Types of Boundary Surveys. Three types of boundary surveys, which relate to or
define property boundaries, are regulated by these standards. These are property boundary
surveys, route surveys and mineral unitization surveys.
B. Presented below are categories which define the degree of accuracy which shall be
attained for boundary surveys performed in Louisiana. These classifications are based upon the
purposes for which the property is being used at the time the survey is performed and any
proposed developments which are disclosed to the professional land surveyor by the client.
Refer to §2913 for accuracy standards for each of the following classes of boundary surveys.
1. Class A Surveys. Boundary surveys which require maximum surveying accuracy. This
includes, but is not limited to, surveys of urban business district properties and highly developed
commercial properties.
2. Class B Surveys. Boundary surveys of properties which justify a high degree of
surveying accuracy. This includes, but is not limited to, surveys of commercial properties and
higher priced residential properties located outside urban business districts and highly developed
commercial areas.
3. Class C Surveys. Boundary surveys of residential and suburban areas. This includes,
but is not limited to, surveys of residential areas which cannot be classified as Class A or Class B
surveys.
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4. Class D Surveys. Boundary surveys of all remaining properties which cannot be
classified as Class A, B or C surveys. This includes, but is not limited to, surveys of farm lands
and rural areas.
LAC Title 46:LXI§2907. Property Boundary Survey.
A. Definition
Property Boundary Survey―a survey which, after careful study, investigation, and
evaluation of major factors influencing the location of boundaries, results in the deliberate
location or relocation on the ground of, and the recovery or installation of monuments that define
the location and extent of, one or more boundaries. Surveying and mapping activities which
meet the definition of a property boundary survey are listed in Subparagraph a of §105.A,
Practice of Land Surveying. Any plat or map prepared from surveying and mapping activities
listed in Subparagraph b of §105.A, Practice of Land Surveying, which does not meet the
definition of a property boundary survey, shall have a note stating that it that does not represent a
property boundary survey.
B. Purpose. The primary purpose of the property boundary survey is to locate or relocate
the physical position and extent of the boundaries of real property, and the discovery of visible
evidence of prescriptive rights relating thereto. A property boundary survey may also include
the location or relocation of the physical position and extent of political boundaries which define
the perimeters of public or private ownership. In addition, the property boundary survey is a
means of marking boundaries for sufficient definition and identification to uniquely locate each
lot, parcel, or tract in relation to other well recognized and established points of reference,
adjoining properties and rights-of-way.
C. Product. A property boundary survey shall result in the recovery, establishment or
reestablishment of monumented corners and points of curvature and tangency. Reference
monuments shall be established or reestablished when required by these standards (see
Subsection E, "Monuments"). In the event that no plat or map of survey is required, the
professional land surveyor shall maintain adequate records to substantiate his/her professional
opinion in reestablishing boundary lines and corners on a survey. If requested by the client, a
property boundary survey may also include the following:
1. a signed, sealed and dated metes and bounds written description depicting the surveyed
boundary (see Subsection H, "Descriptions");
2. a certified plat or map depicting the survey as made on the ground; and
3. a signed, sealed and dated written report of the professional land surveyor's findings and
determinations.
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D. Research and Investigation. Where the purpose of a property boundary survey neither
requires nor includes research and investigation of servitudes, a note to that effect shall be placed
upon the plat or map of survey. However, when such research or investigation is required, the
professional land surveyor shall request from the client or their agent the most recent legal
description, plats or maps describing the property to be surveyed. The professional land
surveyor shall then evaluate the necessity to obtain the following data based on the specific
purpose of the survey:
1. additional recorded legal descriptions and plats or maps of the tract to be surveyed and
tracts adjoining or in proximity to the property to be surveyed;
2. the recorded legal descriptions of adjoining, severing, or otherwise encumbering
servitudes or rights-of-way, including but not limited to, highways, roadways, pipelines, utility
corridors, and waterways used for drainage, navigation or flood control; and
3. grants, patents, subdivision plats or maps or other recorded data that will reference or
influence the position of boundary lines.
E. Monuments. The professional land surveyor shall set monuments at all boundary or lot
corners, including points of curvature and points of tangency unless monuments already exist or
cannot be set due to physical obstructions. The following guidelines apply to artificial
monuments to be set.
1. All monuments set shall be composed of a durable material and shall incorporate a
ferrous material to aid in locating them by magnetic locators and, if composed of a ferrous
material, shall be a minimum of 1/2 inch outside diameter, and a minimum of 18 inches in length
unless it is physically impossible to set such a monument. If rebar rods are used as survey
monuments, the minimum size shall be a #4 bar.
2. Concrete monuments shall be at least 3 inches in width or diameter by 24 inches in
length, reinforced with an iron rod at least 1/4 inch in diameter, and may contain a precise mark
on top indicating the exact location of the corner.
3. Marks on existing concrete, stone, or steel surface shall consist of drill holes, chisel
marks or punch marks and shall be of sufficient size, diameter or depth to be definitive, stable
and readily identifiable as a survey monument. Marks on asphalt roads may consist of railroad
spikes, large nails, or other permanent ferrous spikes or nail-like objects.
4. It is unacceptable to set wooden stakes as permanent boundary monuments.
5. Monuments shall be set vertically whenever possible and the top shall be reasonably
flush with the ground when practical. Monuments subject to damage from earthwork,
construction or traffic should be buried at a sufficient depth to offer protection.
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6. When physically impossible to set a monument at the corner, witness or reference
monuments shall be set, preferably on each converging line at measured distances from the
corner and identified as such in the description and on the plat or map of the property.
F. Field Procedures. All field work shall be performed in accordance with accepted
modern surveying theory, practice and procedures. Any person in charge of a survey field party
shall be well-trained in the technical aspects of property boundary surveying. Every professional
land surveyor under whose responsible charge a property boundary survey is conducted is also
required to adhere to the following.
1. All field measurement procedures shall be consistent with these standards and modern
surveying theory, procedures and techniques.
2. In performing resurveys of tracts having boundaries defined by lines established in
public lands surveys, the professional land surveyor shall, as nearly as possible, reestablish the
original lines of any prior survey made under United States or state authority. In all townships or
portions of townships where no property boundary survey has been made, the professional land
surveyor, in surveying or platting the township or portion thereof, shall make it conform as
nearly as practicable to the lots and section indicated upon the plats or maps according to which
the lands were granted by the state or by the United States (R.S. 50:125).
3. Where applicable, property boundary surveys necessitating the division of a section
shall be performed in accordance with the appropriate instructions for the subdivisions of
sections as published by the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land
Management, in its book entitled Manual of Instruction for Survey of the Public Lands of the
United States, and all applicable federal laws.
4. Special consideration shall be afforded by the rules of evidence and "hierarchy of calls"
before any decision is made regarding property boundaries. "The legal guides for determining a
question of boundary or the location of a land line in order of their importance and value are: 1–
natural monuments, 2–artificial monuments, 3–distances, 4–courses, 5–quantity. But the
controlling consideration is the intention of the parties" (see citation in Myer vs. Comegys, 147
La. 851, 86 So. 307, 309 (1920)).
5. A careful search shall be made for corner monuments affecting the location of the
boundaries of land to be surveyed. Any evidence discovered shall be evaluated for its agreement
in description and location with the call in the relevant deeds and/or plats or maps.
6. All boundary discrepancies, visible evidence of possible encroachments, and visible
indications of rights which may be acquired through prescription or adverse possession shall be
physically located. All evidence of servitudes that is visible without meticulous searching shall
be physically located during the survey. Furthermore, nonvisible servitudes shall be located only
upon the client's specific request and the client’s delivery of any necessary documentation.
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7. All field data gathered shall satisfy the requirements of the following Subsection on
plats and maps.
G. Plats and Maps. Every original plat or map of a property boundary survey should be a
reproducible drawing at a suitable scale which clearly shows the results of the field work,
computations, research and record information as compiled and checked. The plat or map shall
be prepared in conformity with the following guidelines.
1. Any reasonably stable and durable drawing paper, linen or film of reproducible quality
will be considered suitable material for property boundary survey plats and maps.
2. The minimum dimensions for plats and maps shall be 8 inches by 10-1/2 inches.
3. All dimensions, bearings or angles, including sufficient data to define the curve, shall be
neatly and legibly shown with respect to each property or boundary line. To define a circular
curve, the following four elements shall be shown: chord bearing, chord distance, arc and radius.
When possible, all bearings shall read in a clockwise direction around the property. All lines and
curves shall show sufficient data on the plat or map to calculate a plat or map closure.
4. Monuments shall be labeled as "found" or "set" with a sufficient description of the
monument. The description shall include but not be limited to the size and type of material, and
relevant reference markers, if any, along with their position in relation to the corner.
5. When the purpose of the property boundary survey dictates, the area of the tract and all
pertinent natural or man-made features located during the course of the field survey (water
courses, streets, visible utilities, etc.) shall be labeled or represented by an appropriate symbol on
the plat or map in its proper location. When appropriate, the feature shall be dimensioned and
referenced to the nearest property line.
6. A statement indicating the origin of azimuths or bearings shall be shown on each plat or
map. If bearings are used, the basis of the bearing shall include one or more of the following:
a. reference to true north as computed by astronomic observation within one mile of the
surveyed site;
b. reference to the Louisiana State Plane Coordinate System with the appropriate zone and
when applicable a controlling station(s) with coordinates and datum noted;
c. reference to the record bearing of a well-established line found monumented on the
ground as called for in a relevant deed or survey plat or map; or
d. when none of the above alternatives are practical, a magnetic bearing (corrected for
declination) may be used.
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7. If a coordinate system other than the Louisiana State Plane Coordinate System is used
on a plat or map, that system shall be identified. If that system is the Louisiana State Plane
Coordinate System, the appropriate zone shall be shown on the plat or map.
8. Where the new survey results differ significantly from the prior deed information in
regard to course, distance, location or quantity, the plat or map shall indicate such differences or
discrepancies.
9. Where separate intricate details, blowups or inserts are required for clarity, they shall be
properly referenced to the portion of the plat or map where they apply. This applies particularly
to areas where lines of occupation do not conform to deed lines and to areas where a comparison
of adjoining deeds indicates the existence of a gap or an overlap.
10. Cemeteries and burial grounds known by the professional land surveyor to be located
within the premises being surveyed shall be indicated on the plat or map. However, a detailed
survey of the limits of the cemetery shall not be required unless directed by the client.
11. When the purpose of the property boundary survey dictates, properties, water courses
and rights-of-way surrounding, adjoining, or severing the surveyed site shall be identified.
Private lands or servitudes should be labeled with the name of the owner or with a reference to
the deed under which ownership is held, provided that such information is furnished by the
client.
12. Original section, grant, subdivision or survey lines, when an integral part of the deed,
shall be shown in proper location with pertinent labeling. A measurement of course and distance
shall be shown to a parent tract corner, block corner, section corner, subdivision or grant corner,
and existing monuments shall be indicated.
13. Differing line weights or delineating letters or numbers (A, B, C, etc. or 1, 2, 3, etc.)
shall be used to clearly show the limits of what is being surveyed.
14. Each plat or map shall show the following:
a. caption or title;
b. client and/or purpose;
c. vicinity map. A vicinity map will not be required if there are sufficient features and
landmarks (officially named streets and street intersections, lots and blocks within a subdivision,
adjoining subdivisions, Township-Range-Section lines, etc.) on the plat or map that would
sufficiently enable a person to identify the location of the survey site;
d. date of the survey;
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e. name, telephone number, mailing address and license number of the professional land
surveyor, or the firm who employs the professional land surveyor;
f. signature and seal of the professional land surveyor under whose responsible charge the
survey was done;
g. scale, written and/or graphic;
h. north arrow, and it is recommended that the drawings be oriented so that north is toward
the top of the sheet; and
i. legend for symbols and abbreviations used on the plat or map.
15. Final plats or maps issued to the client shall contain a certification statement by the
professional land surveyor certifying its authenticity (that it represents his/her survey) and stating
that the property boundary survey is in accordance with the applicable standards of practice as
stipulated in this Chapter, based on the current survey "classification" (see §2905, Classification
of Boundary Surveys).
H. Descriptions. A written legal description of the surveyed tract of land shall provide
information to properly locate the property on the ground and distinctly set it apart from all other
lands. The following guidelines apply.
1. When the surveyed property's dimensions, boundaries and area are in agreement with
the existing recorded deed or platted calls, the existing recorded description may be used if it
approximates the standards contained herein.
2. When the property is an aliquot part of a rectangular section or a lot in a platted
subdivision, the aliquot method or the lot, block and subdivision method (including recordation
data) of describing the property may be used. Metes and bounds descriptions of this type of
property are optional.
3. Every aliquot description shall contain the following basic information: aliquot part of
section, township, range, parish, land district and meridian (if applicable), parish and state.
4. Every subdivision lot description shall also contain the following basic information: lot,
block, unit (if applicable), name of subdivision, city (if applicable), parish and state.
5. Every metes and bounds description may be written in at least two parts. The first part,
called the "general description," shall indicate the general location of the property by naming the
particular lot or block within which it is located if in a subdivision or by naming the grant or
aliquot part of a rectangular section within which it is located, along with the township, range,
land district and meridian (if applicable), city (if applicable), parish and state. The second part,
called the "particular description," shall logically compile and incorporate calls for the following:
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a. courses and distances of the new survey, preferably in a clockwise direction;
b. adjoining apparent rights-of-way or servitudes;
c. monuments (when controlling), including descriptions of type, size, material, reference
monuments (if applicable), and whether found, set or replaced; and
d. the area, if stated, shall be in square feet or acres or hectares within the tolerances
specified in this Chapter.
6. The "point of beginning" should ideally be the property corner that is most accessible
and most easily identifiable by interested parties. This point shall be carefully chosen and
described in a manner which will distinguish it indisputably from any other point. The
"commencing point" shall be any identifiable point used to locate the "point of beginning."
7. The courses in the written description shall be as brief and yet as explanatory as the
professional land surveyor can construct. Brevity should not cause important locative
information to be omitted, and explanatory phrases should not enlarge the description to the
extent of confusion.
8. Curved boundaries shall be identified, and sufficient data to define the curve shall be
presented. To define a circular curve, the following four elements shall be listed:
a. chord bearing;
b. chord distance;
c. arc; and
d. radius.
9. Each metes and bounds description shall return to the “point of beginning” and close
mathematically within the tolerances stated in this Chapter.
10. A statement at the end of the description shall connect the description to the specific
survey on which it is based and to the plat or map which depicts the survey. Such a statement
may be phrased:
"This description is based on the property boundary survey and plat or map made by
_______(name)______, Professional Land Surveyor, dated __________."
or
"This description is based on plat or map recorded _____________(give recordation data)
_____________."
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11. The metes and bounds description shall then be signed, sealed and dated by the
professional land surveyor.
LAC Title 46:LXI§2909. Route Survey.
A. Definition
Route Survey―a survey for determining the route of a proposed pipeline, power line, cable,
road or other linear facilities, excluding flood protection levees, in order to acquire a right-of-
way, servitude or easement from the property owner being crossed.
B. Scope and Product. A route survey shall, as a minimum, consist of the following
elements.
1. The professional land surveyor shall utilize sufficient title information and research as
needed to define the tract boundaries.
2. The professional land surveyor shall locate sufficient evidence, on the ground, to
determine the location of all boundary lines that will be crossed by the proposed right-of-way,
servitude or easement. Installation of new monuments is not required when defining the limits of
the right-of-way, servitude or easement to be acquired.
3. The professional land surveyor shall prepare a plat(s) or map(s) for those tracts being
crossed, showing the alignment of the proposed route and the length of the proposed right-of-
way, servitude or easement across the tract. These plats or maps shall be prepared in compliance
with those requirements for property boundary survey plats or maps that are specifically
contained in §2907.G.1, 2, 6, 7 and 14. Final plats or maps issued to the client shall contain a
statement by the professional land surveyor certifying its authenticity (that it represents his/her
survey) and stating that the route survey complies with the applicable standards of practice as
stipulated in this Chapter. Sufficient information to re-establish the right-of-way, servitude or
easement, including any found monuments, must be shown at a suitable scale or in a separate
detail on each plat or map.
4. If requested by the client, the professional land surveyor shall prepare a legal description
of the proposed right-of-way, servitude or easement for each tract crossed by the proposed
facility. The description shall describe the alignment and length of the proposed right-of-way,
servitude or easement and shall comply with those requirements for legal descriptions for
property boundary surveys that are specifically contained in §2907.H.6 through 11.
5. The accuracy standards that are required for route surveys shall be based on property
classification D, as presented in §2913.
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LAC Title 46:LXI§2911. Mineral Unitization Survey.
A. Definition
Mineral Unitization Survey―a survey performed to define subsurface mineral tracts for the
specific purpose of allocating mineral rights within a mineral unit.
B. Scope and Product. A mineral unitization survey shall, as a minimum, consist of the
following elements.
1. The professional land surveyor shall utilize sufficient title information, as provided by
the client, needed to define the mineral tracts, in conjunction with adequate information to define
the unit boundary.
2. The professional land surveyor shall determine, on the ground, the location of the unit
well and the location of sufficient tract lines in order to determine the subsurface mineral tracts
located inside the unit boundaries. Geologically significant wells, as identified by the Louisiana
Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation field order or the client, will be located
with respect to the unit boundaries. Installation of new monuments defining the limits of the
unit, or of the tracts which comprise the unit, is not required.
3. The professional land surveyor shall prepare a unitization plat or map (Louisiana
Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation field order unit, voluntary unit or
declared unit) showing the mineral participant(s) and limits of the tracts (or portions of tracts)
which are included in the proposed mineral unit. These plats or maps shall be prepared in
compliance with those requirements for property boundary survey plats or maps that are
specifically contained in §2907.G.1, 2, 6, 7 and 14. These plats or maps shall contain bearings
and distances around the perimeter of the unit boundary, but are not required to depict or list
such calls for the individual tracts which comprise the unit. Final plats or maps issued to the
client shall contain a statement by the professional land surveyor certifying its authenticity (that
it represents his/her survey) and stating that the mineral unitization survey complies with the
applicable standards of practice as stipulated in this Chapter. In addition, the plats or maps,
when applicable, shall be in compliance with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources,
Office of Conservation’s requirements governing unit plats and survey plats (LAC
43:XIX.Chapter 41).
4. The accuracy standards that are required for mineral unitization surveys shall be based
on property classification D, as presented in §2913.
LAC Title 46:LXI§2913. Positional Accuracy Specification and Positional Tolerances
[Formerly §2909]
A. If radial survey methods, global positioning systems (GPS) or other acceptable
technologies or procedures are used to locate or establish points on the boundary survey, the
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professional land surveyor shall apply acceptable surveying procedures in order to assure that the
allowable positional accuracy and/or positional tolerance of such points are not exceeded. Any
conversion from meters to feet shall use U.S. Survey Feet.
Condition A B C D
Urban Business
District Urban Suburban Rural
Remarks and
Formula
Unadjusted Closure
(maximum allowable)
1:15,000 1:10,000 1:7,500 1:5,000 Traverse Loop or
between Control
Monuments (closed traverse)
Angular Closure
(maximum allowable)
10''√N 15''√N 25''√N 30''√N N = Number of
Angles in Traverse (closed traverse)
Accuracy of Bearing ± 15 Sec. ± 20 Sec. ± 30 Sec. ± 40 Sec. In Relation to Source
(closed traverse,
radial or GPS)
Linear Distances Accurate to: (maximum
allowable)
0.05 ft ± ± 0.05 ft
per 1,000 ft
0.05 ft ± ± 0.1 ft
per 1,000 ft
0.07 ft + ± 0.15 ft
per 1,000 ft
0.1 ft + ± 0.2 ft
per 1,000 ft
Applies when the Distance is not part
of a Closed Traverse
(radial or GPS)
Positional Tolerance and
Positional Accuracy of any
Monument (maximum)
0.1' + AC/15,000 0.1' + AC/10,000 0.1' + AC/7,500 0.2' + AC/5,000 AC = Length of Any
Course* (closed
traverse, radial or GPS)
Calculation of area - accurate
and carried to nearest ____
(decimal place) of an acre (closed traverse, radial or
GPS)
0.001
0.001
0.01 0.1
0.001
0.001
0.01 0.1
0.001
0.01
0.1 0.2
0.001
0.01
0.1 0.3
To 1 acre
To 10 acres
To 100 acres To 1,000 acres
Elevations for Boundaries
Controlled by Tides, Contours, Rivers, etc.
Accurate to:
0.2 ft. 0.3 ft. 0.4 ft. 0.5 ft. Based on Accepted
Local Datum (closed traverse, radial or
GPS)
Location of Improvements, Structures, Paving, etc.
(Tie Measurements)
± 0.1 ft.
± 0.2 ft.
± 0.5 ft.
± 1 ft.
(closed traverse, radial or GPS)
Adjusted Mathematical
Closure to Survey (Minimum)
1:50,000 1:50,000 1:50,000 1:50,000 (closed traverse,
radial or GPS)
*Short courses in categories "A" and "B" may generate positional errors of less than 0.01 feet. A minimum course distance of 200 feet shall be used in calculating positional error.